House Republicans are vowing to ramp up attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris as some Democrats warm to the idea of her replacing President Joe Biden on the 2024 presidential ticket.
The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad Wednesday targeting Harris in the case that Democrats replace Biden as the party’s nominee before November. The ad accuses Harris of being the “enabler-in-chief,” citing Biden’s border policies, and argues the vice president deserves partial blame for the most unpopular decisions the Biden administration has made over the last three years.
“Everything Kamala Harris touches turns into an unmitigated disaster,” NRCC press secretary Will Reinert said in a statement. “Whether extreme House Democrats call on Joe Biden to step aside or not, Kamala Harris deserves the blame for many of the crises making life unsafe and difficult for American families — and we plan to make her a prominent feature of the 2024 campaign.”
The ad highlights moments in which Biden is seen tripping or appearing confused while on stage, accusing Democrats of being “complicit” in convincing voters he is mentally fit to run for a second term — something Republicans say has been disproven by his debate performance last week. In that debate, the president repeatedly lost his train of thought and failed to challenge Trump in the way Democrats had hoped.
The ad comes as a growing number of Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, with Harris emerging as one of the most likely replacements.
New polling shows Harris faring better against Trump in a head-to-head matchup, falling only 2 points behind the former president, according to a survey by CNN. However, she has a lower favorability rating than Biden, which could play a role if she does manage to replace him as the party’s nominee.
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The White House has remained confident in Biden’s abilities to serve a second term, brushing off suggestions that the president should step down or withdraw from the race. In a campaign speech after the debate, Biden acknowledged that although he is no longer a “young man,” he is ready for a second term.
“Folks, I would not be running again if I did not believe with all of my heart and soul that I can do this job,” he told supporters in New York last week.