As doubts grow about President Biden’s mental fitness, attention has shifted to whether he will step aside during the completion of his first term and what that might mean for Vice President Kamala Harris’ political future.
“Vice President Kamala Harris owes the American people an explanation for why she has not been honest about President Biden’s rapid decline and incompetence,” Mike Howell, executive director of the conservative advocacy group Heritage Action, told Fox News Digital.
“She chose politics over national security, and history will judge that decision.”
Howell added that Democrats were unlikely to call for Biden to immediately retire and for Harris to run the government, because “to acknowledge that would mean they’ve basically been complicit in the lies for the last three and a half years” about Biden’s declining health.
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President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the Truman Balcony at the White House on July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Biden’s withdrawal would be an implicit endorsement of Kamala Harris as the nominee, because at that point she would be the sitting president, so I think that’s a factor,” Howell said. “What’s happening now is more and more voices are coming forward in support of Harris, and of course President Biden is trying to resist those voices as much as he can, but I think it’s inevitable that more and more people will speak out.”
Biden has repeatedly said he has no plans to withdraw from the election, despite growing calls from concerned lawmakers for him to end his reelection campaign due to his poor debate performance and waning energy.
“Most of the Democrats who are questioning whether President Biden should run are either in battleground states, are in tough reelection races themselves, or need the vote of independents or Republicans,” Democratic strategist Mustafa Rashed said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“That’s difficult,” Rashed continued. “The vice president’s advantage is that she’s been in close proximity to the Oval Office for the last three and a half years, which no one else can say. And she’s the only person so far who’s been nationally, publicly, and thoroughly vetted. Some of the other candidates haven’t gone through the vetting process that’s required to run for national office.”
President Obama grabs President Biden’s wrist at a fundraiser. (Christopher Gardner, via Storyful)
Other Democrats being mentioned as possible candidates to replace Biden include California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Asked at a Biden-Harris campaign event in New Hampshire this week, Newsom said Harris had a better chance of winning if she faced former President Trump.
“There’s no doubt about that, and that’s coming from someone who’s known her longer than most people, even before we got into politics,” Newsom said, according to the Associated Press. “But I don’t expect that to happen.”
Democrats also held a private meeting on Monday amid growing pressure on Biden to drop out of the race.
Fox News has learned that following House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York’s virtual meeting with ranking Democrats on House committees on Sunday afternoon, several Democrats on House committees expressed concerns about the possibility of Biden continuing to seek reelection against President Trump.
Fox said he was told the consensus among most of the Democrats who suggested Biden should drop out of the race on the call was that the party should focus on Harris as a potential successor.
Furthermore, recent CNN/SSRS Poll It shows Harris performing slightly better than Biden in head-to-head matches against Trump.
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President Biden speaks at a campaign event in Philadelphia on April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
House Republicans have already attacked Harris as a possible replacement for Biden if he were to drop out of the race.
Republicans in both reliably Republican districts and left-leaning battleground states have said they do not see Harris as a political threat to their chances of winning in November, arguing she is still tied to Biden’s progressive policies that they see as unpopular with voters.
Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-New York), who served as chairman of the New York Republican Party for many years before joining Congress, previously told Fox News Digital that “Kamala Harris is just as responsible for the failures of this administration, but she’s just more incompetent.”
a Republicans in a precarious position The person, who requested anonymity, told Fox News Digital he was skeptical that Harris could perform better than Biden in the debate.
“I’d say she’s the weakest link in the field right now, as much as Biden is,” the Republican said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on June 28, 2024. (Bizayev Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) reportedly privately said Sunday that Biden should withdraw from the presidential race as the Democratic nominee, and most of them also said Harris should be the candidate, two people familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press.
Following reports of the meeting, Beyer issued a statement saying he supported the president continuing his campaign.
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“I support President Biden and look forward to endorsing the Biden-Harris campaign and helping them defeat Donald Trump in November,” the representative said. “I was proud to host an event with the President in Northern Virginia this week and will continue to do all I can to support the Biden-Harris campaign in Virginia and across the nation.”
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind, Greg Wehner and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
