The Harris campaign is in full-blown panic mode. When Vice President Kamala Harris started to collapse in the polls, harking back to the good old days of 2020 when Democrats actually voted for their presidential nominee, campaign hacks rushed to announce that “Republicans are gaming the polls.”
After news broke that Harris’s unpopularity even applies to black men, her social media team posted her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which includes $20,000 “fully forgivable” loans for black entrepreneurs, protection for the cryptocurrency investments of black men, and the legalization of recreational marijuana to “create opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry.”
In fact, another post was dedicated purely to the legalization of recreational marijuana that would “[break] down unjust barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back and [make] sure Black Americans have opportunities to succeed as the marketplace takes shape.”
Because who is best placed to ensure black marijuana dealers succeed? Harris, the former district attorney and attorney general, who jailed black Americans for selling marijuana.
But then there’s the most absurd panic-induced strategy of all: to go after Trump’s mental acuity.
“He’s not OK,” said former host Don Lemon, who was bizarrely welcomed back by CNN to speak alongside another rehire: disgraced self-love expert Jeffrey Toobin. NBC reported that Harris is shining a “bigger spotlight” on Trump’s “health” and “mental acuity.” And, of course, the Lincoln Project said that “it’s clear what’s happening” and that “we’ve all watched Donald Trump’s mental decline for years.”
Meanwhile, Harris herself got in on the act, saying that Trump “refuses to release his medical records,” after releasing her own medical history demonstrating “excellent health” and presidential levels of physical and mental resilience — according to her primary care physician, who is employed by the White House.
The reliability of the report comes into further question given that Dr. Joshua Simmons says Harris “drinks only occasionally and in moderation.”
In all seriousness, it’s important to acknowledge that the physical and mental fitness of any commander in chief is hugely important, and we must do more to ensure that candidates meet these fundamental expectations well in advance of being handed the most challenging and potentially influential job on the face of the planet.
But let’s not pretend that Harris suddenly cares about physical and mental fitness when she was the face of the yearslong propaganda campaign to hide President Joe Biden’s decline.
In January, for example, Harris told ABC News that she has “spent a lot of time with Biden, be it in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room and other places” and that “he is extraordinarily smart.”
“He has the ability to see around the corner in terms of what might be the challenges we face as a nation or globally," Harris said.
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Just a few months later, Biden’s reelection hopes imploded after his brain fell out on live television.
I’m all in favor of requiring objective transparency regarding the physical and mental health of presidential candidates. But no, I’m not going to believe that Harris, the woman who told us Biden was a spring chicken when he was actually more like the last turkey in the shop, suddenly cares about mental fitness.
Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker, and podcast host. You can find him on Substack and follow him on X at @ighaworth .
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