Republicans launch coordinated effort against Biden’s ‘apparent heir’ Kamala Harris as she dodges question of whether she will run as Democratic nominee
Republicans are targeting Vice President Kamala Harris as calls for President Biden to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee grow, potentially giving the vice president the top spot in November.
The vice president has been a staunch defender of the president and has spoken out against concerns about his poor performance in debates and his age.
However, some Democrats have already called for the president’s resignation and Harris is seen as a likely successor.
Republicans are seizing on the fallout, accusing Democrats of covering up the president’s true fitness, and are targeting Democrats in all the crucial states on the ballot.
The House Republican campaign arm launched a digital ad Wednesday targeting the vice president as Republicans try to retain control of the House and expand their slim majority this fall.
Republicans are launching attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, who appears to be the frontrunner to replace President Biden if he drops out of the presidential race
The ad accuses Harris of being an “enabler in chief,” with clips of her praising Biden.
The vice president is also accused of being the “architect of the border crisis,” as he is a key government official tasked with resolving the border issue.
The digital spot ends with, “Vote Republican. Stop Kamala.”
“Whether or not extreme Democrats in the House of Representatives call on Joe Biden to step aside, Kamala Harris deserves the blame for many of the crises that are making life unsafe and difficult for American families. We plan to give her a prominent role in the 2024 campaign,” Will Reinert of the National Republican Campaign Committee said in a statement.
But Democrats strongly opposed the line of attack and efforts to tie the vice president to the border.
“Republicans are deluding themselves if they think the American public will blame anyone other than Donald Trump and his reckless band of Republican extremists and fake moderates who thwarted a bipartisan border deal — all in an effort to score cheap political points,” said Courtney Rice, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The GOP’s attack on Harris comes as a new CNN poll shows the vice president within two points of Donald Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.
She is polling better than President Biden compared to the ex-president or other Democrats who have been suggested as a replacement.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect GOP candidates to the House of Representatives, has released a digital ad targeting Vice President Harris amid the fallout from Biden’s debate
A new CNN poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris within reach of Trump in a hypothetical matchup of 47 percent to 45 percent
Former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan became the first prominent Democrat this week to call for Biden to step aside and for Democrats to nominate Harris.
Harris is the only potential replacement who could take control of Biden’s war chest if he withdraws.
But a Politico/Morning Consult poll last month found that Harris has the same negative rating as Biden, at 52 percent.
Harris has so far rejected the prospect of becoming the party’s nominee.
“Look, Joe Biden is our nominee. We’ve beaten Trump once, and we’re going to beat him again. Period,” Harris told CBS News on Tuesday.
When asked if she is prepared to lead the country if necessary, Harris replied, “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”
The president and the White House reiterated on Wednesday that Biden is not dropping out of the race.