Should Biden Resign?

Why Kamala Harris would benefit the most

Top Republicans are screaming that if Biden isn’t fit to run for president, he isn’t fit to be president. In arguing for his resignation, their intent seems to be to embarrass and weaken the Democrats. But the greatest beneficiary would actually be Kamala Harris. A Biden resignation would likely increase Harris’ chances to defeat Donald Trump in November, something that Biden says is his priority.

An orderly resignation now would not only very formally pass the torch to Harris, it would also allow the Vice President to demonstrate her fitness for the Oval Office. She would be commander-in-chief of the armed forces, carry the responsibility of the presidency, deal with foreign leaders, and have to face pressing issues like the Israel-Hamas war. And, in a world where somehow people still doubt that a woman is “ready” to be president, the question would be moot.

Most importantly, Biden’s resignation would also allow Harris a precious opportunity to differentiate herself from him and his sagging approval rating. It’s no secret that as Vice President, Harris has not been given much chance to step out from behind Biden.

As CNN earlier reported on the Biden-Harris administration:

“Many in the vice president’s circle fume that she’s not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined. The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she’s able to do politically. And those around her remain wary of even hinting at future political ambitions, with Biden’s team highly attuned to signs of disloyalty, particularly from the vice president … She’s perceived to be in such a weak position that top Democrats in and outside of Washington have begun to speculate privately, asking each other why the White House has allowed her to become so hobbled in the public consciousness, at least as they see it.”

One of the few issues Biden has permitted Harris to take point on is the politically radioactive issue of immigration, particularly southern border migration. Shortly after his inauguration, Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The conditions in these countries are dire. Honduras, for example, has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and El Salvador’s gang violence and control is so bad it has led to the highest incarceration rate on earth. Being the public face of stopping people from fleeing countries like these is about as enviable as being the face of ending rainy days. 

Just months into her term, Republicans hammered Harris for not visiting the southern border. Even the mainstream media joined in, with NBC’s Lester Holt twice pressing her on the issue during an interview.

Shortly after, Harris pleaded with Guatemalans not to travel to the U.S. illegally. “Do not come, do not come,” she said at a press conference. The remark quickly went viral on social media by conservatives who wanted to cast her as impotent and by liberals who portrayed her as anti-immigrant.

The attacks on Harris’ migration role were so relentless that conservatives eventually nicknamed her Biden’s “border czar.” (There is no such position, and border enforcement is overseen by Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has been the administration whipping boy in the current immigration debate.)

Today, the issue of immigration is the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. He’s far from alone in his focus on it. In February, Gallup found that for the first time in years, Americans believe immigration to be the single most important problem facing the country today — above even inflation and the economy in general. 

Seems significant

Is that really the issue Democrats want their all-but-certain nominee to be defined by?

In the Biden White House, Harris was relegated to announcing such stirring breakthroughs as youth empowerment initiatives in Central America and loans for affordable housing in Mexico. Meanwhile, the “men’s work” of national security was firmly held in Biden’s hand, who was galavanting around the world as the keeper of some vague flame of American leadership and as the foremost defender of democracy. 

“Kyiv stands,” Biden declared during a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital last year, posing for an iconic photo clad in his signature aviators and standing alongside its president Volodymyr Zelensky, guarantor of Ukraine’s freedom from Russian tyranny.

One for the textbooks

“Ironclad” is the term Biden has uttered countless times when it comes to Israel, a pledge of dogged (and thoughtless) support that has tarnished with much of the Democratic Party faithful.

As presidential candidate, Harris has already energized black people, women, and the celebrity class. But novel decisionmaking as president could help to create some distance between her and Biden, whose youth support has plummeted. There are signs that Harris may have a foreign policy more appealing to young voters. Harris has reportedly lobbied the White House to be more sympathetic to the Palestinians, and just yesterday indicated that she would be skipping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday. Harris, a longtime California Democrat, is not a creature of Washington like Biden is.

With over three months until the presidential election, there’s plenty of time for Harris to show that she is different, strong, and thoughtful.  As commander-in-chief, she would meet with subordinate military leaders and get to know the troops. As head of state, she would have to decide what she wants as she huddles with foreign leaders. As a people’s president, she would be able to reach out to unions, teachers, and young people. Imagine a President Harris who takes young people seriously enough to at least meet with the college protesters to talk Gaza.

Commander Kamala? | AFP

You can almost hear the complaints already: she can’t do it, preparations would take too long, she doesn’t have a clue about weighty world issues. But as Vice President, Harris has already been doing all of that, watching and learning, even if from the end of the Biden bench.

Biden didn’t do Harris any favors by sidelining her, and by giving her what may well be the worst portfolio in all of higher office today. But he can do her a big one by resigning. It would steal an awful lot of thunder from a thunderous Trump.

— Edited by William M. Arkin