Four months. That’s the time Kamala Harris has been given to convince America that she should be the next president of the United States.
There are uphill battles. That’s what Joe Biden was facing. Then there is climbing Everest in a blizzard. That is what is ahead for Harris.
You might remember the famous jogging scene after the Biden 2020 Presidential win.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
In the video posted to Twitter, as it was known then, and shared thousands of times, Harris jubilantly congratulated President-elect Joe Biden: “We did it, we did it Joe. You’re going to be the next president of the United States!”
In that moment, Kamala Harris became the first woman, and the first Black and Asian American woman to be vice president-elect.
And then she all but disappeared. She was buried under the weight of two gargantuan domestic policy tasks — solving America’s immigration debacle and national voting reform, brought on my Donald Trump’s accusations of fraud during the 2020 Presidential election.
Poll results from USA Today in 2021 showed her approval rating at a depressing low of 28 per cent, making her one of the least popular vice presidents in US history.
So, how did we get here?
As doubts over Joe Biden’s health became deafening, Harris’ profile was once again amplified by the Democrats. She appeared behind Joe Biden in his address to the nation following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and has been increasingly vocal on social media about the legacy of the Biden administration.
Last week, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed Harris would beat Trump by two points, whereas Biden would lose by one. It’s within the margin of error but a win is a win.
It was a big talking point at the Republican National Convention too. Our Seven News team told me Republicans were more concerned about Harris taking over than Biden running.
By the time the news broke on Monday morning, it wasn’t really a shock to anyone — Biden pulling out of the presidential race and endorsing his vice president to take his place.
Harris posted: “With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service, putting the American people and our country above everything else. I am honoured to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
Can a woman now defeat Donald Trump?
First, Harris must tackle what’s referred to as the glass cliff.
Like the “glass ceiling”, that invisible barrier that holds women back from achieving high positions in business and politics, the glass cliff is the elevation of women to positions of power when the poo hits the proverbial fan.
Qantas and the Reserve Bank are great examples here in Australia. Vanessa Hudson took over from embattled airline CEO Alan Joyce and Michele Bullock stepped in after Philip Lowe raised rates and left.
Harris also has a lot of cleaning up to do.
A decision on Biden’s health should have been made well before now. Because the 81-year-old stubbornly held on to the Candidacy for many months, Harris has until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19 to choose a running mate and get her campaign in order.
The considerable campaign war chest now belongs to Harris as she was already on the ticket, but it’s going to take a lot more than just money to defeat the resurgent team of Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Former president Barack Obama stopped short of endorsing the vice president, saying in a statement: ”I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
She does have the backing of former president Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.
“We are honoured to join the president in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her”, they said on X.
No doubt hoping that Kamala Harris can achieve what Hillary Clinton couldn’t — a Trump defeat and the election of the very first female to the Oval Office.