Can Biden be replaced? Who should replace him? After the New York Times indiscretions (immediately denied by the White House) on a possible step back by Joe, The guessing game on the names of the Democratic leader’s replacement in the challenge with Donald Trump is back for the US presidency. With the Democratic convention in Chicago about two months away, replacing Biden could be easy—assuming, of course, that he steps aside. The rules governing the convention stipulate that Biden cannot be denied the nomination without his consent. Putting aside the question of whether that is likely to happen, his obvious successor would be his vice president, Kamala Harris.
But according to many analysts, it would be a choice that would not improve the situation much. Harris may even be less popular than Biden and could already be Trump’s next target, who will most likely start arguing right away that, if he were to win, “Grandpa Joe” would be quickly ousted to make way for his “ultra-progressive” successor. If Democrats truly believe that Donald Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy, then both Biden and Harris should step aside. In that case the emergency solution would be Gretchen Whitmer, the popular governor of Michigan, is on the ticket with Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania.
Whitmer is popular nationally and Biden is currently trailing in both Michigan and Pennsylvania. Also Roy Cooper, outgoing governor of North Carolinawould be an interesting choice for vice president, especially if Biden steps aside and Harris becomes the nominee. Of course, there are problems with nominating Whitmer, including the risk of alienating African-American voters. But There’s a good reason why a Whitmer/Shapiro ticket would outperform a Biden/Harris ticket.
After his latest TV performance, Biden’s campaign will be strictly a referendum on Donald Trump rather than a vote of confidence in another four years of Joe Biden, and Whitmer, or someone like her, can win over the undecideds and the “double haters” who would vote for neither Biden nor Trump. In an election that could be decided by a few thousand votes, that could make all the difference. And then there’s always the Michelle Obama card, that would win the African-American vote for the Dems. However, for now, we are talking about fantasy politics.
#Kamala #Harris #Michelle #Obama #Bidens #Successors
