“Harris may not get support among Democrats, there are other candidates,” the analyst said about Biden’s successor
22 July 2024 12:03
EXCLUSIVE
The current President of the United States, Joe Biden, has announced the withdrawal of his candidacy from the election, offering instead the candidacy of his vice president, Kamala Harris. "Komersant Ukrainian" asked Dmytro Levus, an international political scientist at the “United Ukraine” analytical center, whether the Democratic Party of the United States will listen to the opinion of the current president, or whether we should wait for another candidate.
The political scientist considers this peculiar attempt to appoint a successor to Biden “absolutely logical from the point of view of American political culture.”
“Biden resisted all this pressure for a very long time to leave. It is clear that this [recommendation for Harris – ed.] can also be interpreted as his political legacy – he wants a person who is close to him to come.”
– commented Levus 
However, the expert expressed doubts about the candidacy of Kamala Harris from the point of view of the interests of the Democratic Party.
“Regarding Kamala Harris, the reviews from the main mass of people with whom I had the opportunity to communicate, who know about American politics, who live there – this is not a very successful candidate, given her media presence, her ability to debate.”
– noted Levus.
The political scientist also recalled Harris’ prosecutorial past, which may affect her perception among voters. Harris was considered a rather tough prosecutor, so the relationship with her may be ambiguous. However, Levus emphasized that the nomination of Harris is not yet a final decision.
“Normally, again, as is accepted in the American political culture, support for the opinion of the current president should be heard at the Democratic convention. But now we see how huge changes are taking place in the United States, including in political practices.”
– he claims.
The expert also mentioned the possibility of nominating other candidates, including Michelle Obama:
“There are opinions that this person allegedly refuses to be nominated. But a group of intellectuals has formed around ex-president Barack Obama, who is promoting this idea. Therefore, it is not yet a fact that Kamala Harris will be nominated.”
On July 17, US President Joe Biden was diagnosed with the coronavirus, immediately after he announced that he might withdraw from the race due to the illness.
This happened against the background of very active conversations about the fact that Biden is not ready for the next presidency due to the state of his own health, primarily mental. They stepped up after Biden’s debate with Trump, in which the incumbent looked very out of sorts in that context.
As reported, according to the AP-NORC poll, nearly two-thirds of Democrats believed that US President Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential election and allow his party to nominate another candidate.
Donors to the election campaign of US President Joe Biden announced the suspension of about 90 million dollars of their donations.
European allies of the United States were also concerned about the condition and age of President Joe Biden and doubted his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.
Under such pressure, Biden decided to withdraw from the race and called on the Democrats to nominate the current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, instead. Zelensky called it a “tough but strong decision.”
