American Election: Can Kamala Harris’ Weaknesses Turn into Strengths?
Published in Le Nouvel Obs
(France) on 25 July 2024
by Louis Morice (link to original)
The Democratic candidate inherits Joe Biden's unpopularity, but she has already managed to raise $81 million in 24 hours. Alexis Buisson, author of a biography dedicated to Kamala Harris, deciphers how she ascended to this point.
In the final moments of his withdrawal, Joe Biden kept an old promise: to serve only one term before passing the reins to his running mate. This would allow Kamala Harris to become, potentially, the first female, Black president of the United States, a woman whose weaknesses might actually turn out to be strengths, as per the analysis of Alexis Buisson, author of a biography dedicated to the Democratic candidate.
Taking Responsibility and Standing Out
By extension, Harris suffers from Biden's unpopularity. "As vice president, she has to take responsibility for the president's record," Buisson explains. "When we poll Americans, they are concerned about the direction of the country, with a significant inflation that is really destroying a large portion of households."
But her entry into the race destabilizes the Republicans' strategy, which exploited the president's age. Harris is 59, against a 78-year-old Donald Trump. The age handicap is reversed and the charisma of the former prosecutor resurfaces against a convicted candidate, something that she shrewdly enjoys reminding people of: “In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds ... So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type."
Hidden from Sight
Contrary to his 2020 commitment, Biden did nothing to put her in the spotlight. "Historically, the vice president is someone who stays in the background, overshadowed by the president," Buisson says. Hidden from sight, she only appeared entangled with unmanageable matters like immigration control at the Mexican border. "I think she will have trouble balancing taking responsibility for her previous actions and distinguishing herself from Joe Biden," the author believes.
Harris has nonetheless already managed to regain some notoriety by taking a strong stance in defense of abortion rights: "This is a highly significant issue for Democrats but also transcends party lines. There are Republicans who are worried about their party's extreme positions on this issue. This topic has the potential to mobilize a significant base."
International Credibility
The strongest criticisms against Harris concern her supposed lack of familiarity with international issues. "I’m not sure it’s as true as before. In the end, she has still had multiple meetings with heads of state or government. She has represented the voice of the United States in international arenas," Buisson recalls.
She will find herself facing the sensitive issue of the Middle East conflict, with only 23% of Democratic voters supporting the Israeli Defense Forces’ operations in Gaza, according to a recent poll: "She stands with Biden, who has himself evolved in recent months, but we feel on certain points, she makes her difference clear. She already wasn’t there for Netanyahu’s visit to Congress, although as vice president, she is the president of the Senate, and it was expected that she would be there."
Harris has discreetly made her differences with Biden known. Even though she doesn’t truly belong to the radical left, her identity may appeal to the progressive wing of the Democrats: "A mixed-race woman at the head of a blended family with her political and social ascension, she embodies the evolution of American society."
Whether these are weaknesses or strengths is now up to Americans to decide in November: “Have the walls of racism and sexism lowered to the point where Americans are ready to vote for a Black woman to be president?” Buisson wonders. She has already achieved the feat of raising $81 million in 24 hours, a record in the history of the country.
In the final moments of his withdrawal, Joe Biden kept an old promise: to serve only one term before passing the reins to his running mate. This would allow Kamala Harris to become, potentially, the first female, Black president of the United States, a woman whose weaknesses might actually turn out to be strengths, as per the analysis of Alexis Buisson, author of a biography dedicated to the Democratic candidate.
Taking Responsibility and Standing Out
By extension, Harris suffers from Biden's unpopularity. "As vice president, she has to take responsibility for the president's record," Buisson explains. "When we poll Americans, they are concerned about the direction of the country, with a significant inflation that is really destroying a large portion of households."
But her entry into the race destabilizes the Republicans' strategy, which exploited the president's age. Harris is 59, against a 78-year-old Donald Trump. The age handicap is reversed and the charisma of the former prosecutor resurfaces against a convicted candidate, something that she shrewdly enjoys reminding people of: “In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds ... So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type."
Hidden from Sight
Contrary to his 2020 commitment, Biden did nothing to put her in the spotlight. "Historically, the vice president is someone who stays in the background, overshadowed by the president," Buisson says. Hidden from sight, she only appeared entangled with unmanageable matters like immigration control at the Mexican border. "I think she will have trouble balancing taking responsibility for her previous actions and distinguishing herself from Joe Biden," the author believes.
Harris has nonetheless already managed to regain some notoriety by taking a strong stance in defense of abortion rights: "This is a highly significant issue for Democrats but also transcends party lines. There are Republicans who are worried about their party's extreme positions on this issue. This topic has the potential to mobilize a significant base."
International Credibility
The strongest criticisms against Harris concern her supposed lack of familiarity with international issues. "I’m not sure it’s as true as before. In the end, she has still had multiple meetings with heads of state or government. She has represented the voice of the United States in international arenas," Buisson recalls.
She will find herself facing the sensitive issue of the Middle East conflict, with only 23% of Democratic voters supporting the Israeli Defense Forces’ operations in Gaza, according to a recent poll: "She stands with Biden, who has himself evolved in recent months, but we feel on certain points, she makes her difference clear. She already wasn’t there for Netanyahu’s visit to Congress, although as vice president, she is the president of the Senate, and it was expected that she would be there."
Harris has discreetly made her differences with Biden known. Even though she doesn’t truly belong to the radical left, her identity may appeal to the progressive wing of the Democrats: "A mixed-race woman at the head of a blended family with her political and social ascension, she embodies the evolution of American society."
Whether these are weaknesses or strengths is now up to Americans to decide in November: “Have the walls of racism and sexism lowered to the point where Americans are ready to vote for a Black woman to be president?” Buisson wonders. She has already achieved the feat of raising $81 million in 24 hours, a record in the history of the country.
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