A day after announcing his vice-presidential pick, presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden acknowledged what many had long suspected: that he is likely to be little more than a placeholder who will “step aside” for his radical running mate.
Joe Biden made the pick that maximized his chances of continuing to make the race a straight referendum on Trump while also selecting someone whose resume suggests being ready to step in, if and when Biden decides to step aside. | Analysis by @CillizzaCNN https://t.co/Ek4d6sfGfT
— CNN (@CNN) August 11, 2020
Biden surprised many by selecting California Sen. Kamala Harris, whose oft-dour demeanor is a far cry from the “empathy” his campaign has been emphasizing of late.
Harris’s own presidential bid was one of the early failures, with the former California prosecutor withdrawing even before the first primary contest.
Her own lack of charisma and indecisiveness were two key factors that prevented her from breaking free of the pack and fulfilling the expectations of her once-promising run.
Biden, considered by many to be the “safe” candidate when pitted against the uncertainty of far-left radicals like Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, now seems likely to do little more than help usher the way for what would be the first female president of color.
He acknowledged as much himself in his statements explaining why he chose Harris, who—despite being one of the more experienced alternatives within his parameter to pick a black woman—had been outright rude and combative when the two shared the debate stage.
“I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough and ready to lead,” Biden told his supporters in an email Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. “Kamala is that person.”
Fake Republican CNN correspondent Ana Navarro–Cárdenas seemed more than OK with the notion that Democrats planned a bait-and-switch operation to oust incumbent President Donald Trump.
My poodle and I are going to bed happy knowing that when Uncle Joe becomes President, Auntie Kamala will be there in case bad crap happens. pic.twitter.com/mlWSCNvfCi
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) August 12, 2020
Cárdenas’s language, evoking the minstrel stereotypes of a benevolent “uncle” and “auntie,” called to mind one of the most challenging issues the pair will face in cobbling together a winning coalition from a deeply fractured and divided nation after recent race riots and woke mob rule.
Biden has, himself, faced some of the harshest criticism for his repeated gaffes that have come off as being insensitive—and sometimes outright insulting—to black voters.
But the Left sought to recast Biden’s decision as one reflecting his certainty and inevitability in the race against Trump more than a desperate bid to compensate for his own leadership shortcomings.
In his e-mail message, Biden availed himself of the opportunity to continue hammering the president.
“I need someone who understands the pain that so many people in our nation are suffering, [w]hether they’ve lost their job, their business, a loved one to this virus,” he said.
“This president says he doesn’t want to be distracted by it,” Biden continued. “He doesn’t understand that taking care of the people of this nation—all the people—isn’t a distraction; it’s the job. Kamala understands that.”
