Opinion: It's her week. Not his.
Kamala Harris accepts the torch
A week in Chicago that just a month ago was expected to end with President Joe Biden accepting his party’s nomination for a second term will now begin on Monday with the sitting president essentially handing things off to his Vice President.
Nearly one month after his shocking decision to bow out of the race, Biden now finds himself addressing delegates on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. First Lady Jill Biden is also set to speak on opening night.
Their remarks will kick off a star-studded speaker lineup that will culminate with Vice President Kamala Harris officially becoming the first woman of color to be nominated for president by a major party.
But rather than stick around for any of that, the Bidens will be returning to Washington as early as Tuesday. Multiple reports suggest that the President is still trying to come to terms with his chaotic June debate performance — and the subsequent chaotic three weeks that ended with him becoming the first sitting president to abandon his bid for re-election after the conclusion of the primary process.
Those close to Biden are also said to be harboring “frustration” toward top party officials, many of them longtime colleagues of the lame-duck incumbent.
“While [Barack Obama] tweeted in support of Biden immediately after the debate, he then went publicly quiet. The former president did not try to stir up a movement to dislodge Biden from the top of the ticket, but he also didn’t quell one, much to the dismay of some of those closest to Biden, according to the three people.”
Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, has had to respond to criticism online about Biden’s presence (or lack thereof) in this week’s festivities. Some have questioned why so many former party officials are getting more prominent speaking roles while Biden has been left parked on opening night.
“Please just focus on what you can do to help [the Harris/Walz] ticket win,” Harrison replied to a supporter on X. “There are a lot of dynamics and conversations and things you aren’t privy to […] so just focused on what YOU can do to help.”
We will undoubtedly see and hear lots of praise for President Biden and his administration’s accomplishments throughout the week. But at the end of the day, parties throw conventions every four years to celebrate the person who will lead them into November.
That person is now Kamala Harris.
Regardless of any tensions behind the scenes, the party and its leaders all now have the same task: to emerge from Chicago with a strong force of unity around their new ticket.
State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat from Gwinnett County, says she is “absolutely elated” to be one of more than 100 delegates from Georgia who will all vote to affirm Harris’ nomination.
Setting aside the historic nature of the Vice President’s rapid ascension, she absolutely deserves to be at the center of the spotlight this week for doing in three and a half weeks what usually takes as long as two years: launching a presidential campaign, earning the nomination and choosing a running mate. (Not to mention, stockpiling millions in campaign cash.)
Plus, it’s practically custom for the outgoing president to “pass the torch” on opening night when it is his VP who is taking the reins: Bill Clinton did so for Al Gore on the opening night of the 2000 DNC in Los Angeles, as did Ronald Reagan for Bush-41 in The Big Easy back in 1988.
But this specific nomination and the way it all happened is unlike anything we have seen before. Delegates and supporters are eager to celebrate Harris for agreeing to step into the race during such an unprecedented situation for both the party and the country. Because just as she eagerly said yes, she could have very well said no and triggered a messy floor convention.
Democrats are still in the middle of processing the historic situation they are in, and there are plenty of hard feelings to go around. But all of that should take a back seat this week as the party celebrates their new standard-bearer and looks ahead to their ultimate goal of defeating Donald Trump.
Joe Biden passed the torch. Now it’s time for Kamala Harris to accept it.
“There is now a clear contrast between the positive vision she has for our country versus the dark, grim picture painted by her opponent,” Clark said.