Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday doubled down on her support for President Biden amid calls for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his poor performance in last week’s debate with former President Trump.
“Joe Biden is our candidate. We beat Trump once and we’re going to beat him again. That’s it,” Harris said. In an interview with CBS News.
Asked if she would be prepared to lead the country if it wasn’t necessary, Harris said, “I’m proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate. Thank you.”
Harris’ comments came in response to a question from Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) who publicly called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. Doggett is the only House Democrat to have publicly appealed to the president so far.
Biden, 81, faced off against Trump, 78, last week in the first debate of the 2024 general election, during which the president seemed to stumble and lose his train of thought. For much of the 90-minute debate, Biden’s voice was raspy, he stopped speaking and he appeared to struggle to get his thoughts together.
His poor performance caused instant panic among some in the Democratic Party about whether he could defeat President Trump in November and essentially lead the country for the next four years.
Harris’ name has been floated as a possible successor to Biden if he steps down, and a CNN poll released Tuesday found her approval rating closer to Trump’s than Biden’s.
Despite calls from within his party for him to step aside in the 2024 election, the president and his re-election campaign insist he has no plans to withdraw from the race.
Biden has already won the primary and the majority of delegates, so he cannot be easily ousted at the Democratic National Convention in August. The final decision is up to him.
