No American political party ever needed a reset more than the Democrats right now.
The drumbeat for President Joe Biden to step aside just keeps growing. The kind of quiet advice he has been receiving about that from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now reverberating loudly in public .
It's past time to face it – Joe Biden is the past for Democrats. He served a long and distinguished career, capped by the presidency he always coveted. But he isn't up to the job of defeating the man he beat in 2020, former President Donald Trump.
It's time for a change. And that change must happen now, not later. Biden should finish his term while stepping aside in the campaign, throwing his support to Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.
Harris, 59, has the résumé – a former California attorney general, service in the U.S. Senate and four years as an understudy for the most powerful position on the planet. Biden, in a July 11 news conference , called Harris "qualified to be president."
The ticket Democrats should push after Biden drops out
Vice President Kamala Harris stands in the House of Representatives ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. Shawn Thew/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK
Harris would need a running mate. And the Democrats have a decent bench.
Even so, the Democrats need more than experience and ambition. They need a ticket that looks like history in the making if they’re going to turn the page on Biden’s slide to antiquity.
Then Democrats should hype the hell out of a historic ticket of two women in their 50s while turning the tables on Trump, a 78-year-old known for slurring his words during rallies and wandering off on weird rhetorical tangents about sharks , Hannibal Lecter and other things that clearly frighten him.
Picture two experienced women – tested surrogates for a Democratic platform that has scored big wins since 2022 on the Republican quest to stifle reproductive freedoms – facing off against Trump and his newbie vice presidential pick , Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
Those are some debates I’d watch.
While Harris and Whitmer could hammer away at Trump for all the reasons voters rejected him in 2020, they could also dig into the shape-shifting Vance, who morphed from a well-regarded author who rejected Trumpism to an eager accomplice for authoritarianism.
Harris would bring a prosecutor’s zeal to fact-checking Trump, a candidate known to be rattled when challenged by a woman in just about any venue.
Vance’s position on abortion – he has rejected exceptions for rape and incest and wants a national ban – is even more strident than what Trump claims he wants. Imagine Whitmer pressing Vance on his suggestions that divorce, even in violent marriages , is some sort of trick pulled on America by the “sexual revolution.”
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying a Harris-Whitmer ticket jumps out to an immediate lead and leaves Trump and Vance in the dust. Trump right now looks to have a very good shot at winning a second term.
But Harris and Whitmer could upend that. Just the ticket change alone will prompt low-information voters who have not tuned into the presidential race so far to take notice.
That would draw more attention to debates, which could be platforms to reach voters who may be thinking 2024 is just too messy to mess with.
Potential attacks on both Democrats are pretty easy to predict
Harris would probably make a more cogent argument that Trump forced Republicans to kill a bipartisan immigration bill in the U.S. Senate that would have addressed many concerns on both sides of the aisle.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store .
Who better to debunk conspiracy theories than a candidate targeted by an actual conspiracy?
Whitmer clearly has the GOP’s attention. Republican delegates from her state, speaking at their party’s convention in Milwaukee, singled her out for criticism while nominating Trump and Vance.
That’s a big platform, providing national attention to two Democrats not at the top of the ticket. The Republicans wouldn't be trash-talking Harris and Whitmer if they didn't see them as a threat.
Biden should step aside, touting his accomplishments in the White House and his role in opening the next chapter in the Democratic Party's history.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0