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Harris Put on Collision Course With Jill Biden at Democratic Convention, Paris Olympics

© AP Photo / Alex BrandonFirst lady Jill Biden is greeted by Vice President Kamala Harris before a Medal of Honor ceremony for retired U.S. Army Col. Ralph Puckett, in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 21, 2021
First lady Jill Biden is greeted by Vice President Kamala Harris before a Medal of Honor ceremony for retired U.S. Army Col. Ralph Puckett, in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 21, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.07.2024
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden are on a double collision course over whether and when President Joe Biden may leave office, given the question of who will be the Democratic candidate in the 2024 election and who will lead the US delegation to the Olympic Games in Paris, analysts told Sputnik.
Biden announced on Sunday that he was ending his bid to run for a second four-year presidential term in November and separately endorsed Harris as his successor. However, Biden said he would remain president for the remainder of his term. Widespread reports in the US media suggest Harris has negligible support among Democratic party leaders or rank-and-file members, as well as among supporters.
Biden also announced he had contracted COVID-19 but only after his disastrous performance against Republican challenger Donald Trump in their presidential debate earlier this month, when demands to withdraw from the election and resign from office grew louder. Even the usually very supportive US corporate media has raised skepticism that Biden, 81, is not cognitively and physically up to perform his duties.

Harris-Biden Rift

Political analyst Charles Ortel said Republican leaders in both chambers of Congress were already discussing invoking the 25th Amendment and pressing for Biden to stand down completely and immediately from the Oval Office given the logic that if he is not able to campaign due to cognitive and physical deficiencies, he is also not able to perform his duties as president.

"[US House Speaker] Mike Johnson, Senator Josh Hawley and others quickly noted that Biden should resign the presidency or face removal under the 25th Amendment as he clearly is unfit to carry out his full set of duties," Ortel said.

Jill Biden will also want her husband to stay in power at least for the next month because she is determined to lead the US delegation to the Olympic Games in person, Ortel said.
US President-elect Joe Biden speaks outside Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 4, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.07.2024
Analysis
No Sympathy for Biden
"Perhaps Jill Biden will carry through with her plan to lead the American delegation to the Paris Olympics. But the Bidens will not remain much longer as occupants of the White House," Ortel said.
However, Harris would be determined to preside over anticipated American glory at the Olympics instead of the first lady, he said.
"Kamala Harris (and her backers) will want the pageantry and records [at the Paris Olympics] set by her succession," Ortel said.

Lame Duck Leader

However, even if Harris took over quickly, she would widely be seen as a lame duck leader with no significant power base of her own and no control over the open convention that will convene in Chicago later next month, Ortel pointed out.
"Democrats will then struggle to select and win confirmation in the House and Senate for her [Harris'] choice to be vice president," Ortel said, adding that Democrats will be incapable of keeping their convention united and orderly to impress and reassure the American people.
"Only after all this, will the convention open in Chicago, a city already in chaos at a particularly hot and unpleasant time of the year," Ortel said.
He further noted Harris' mediocre record as vice president does not bode well for her coming interregnum as his successor, Ortel added.

Crippling Handicaps

Economic analyst and columnist Alan Tonelson agreed that Biden, who had fought hard to keep his campaign going, had delayed his withdrawal announcement until a moment that has caused maximum confusion and embarrassment for his Democratic party.
"The Biden withdrawal with only a month left before his party's nominating convention looks like a major net minus for the Democrats," Tonelson said.
US President Joe Biden arrives with First Lady Jill Biden. - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.01.2024
Americas
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Biden's late announcement guaranteed that whomever the convention chose to succeed him would start their campaign late and under crippling handicaps, he said.
"No matter who ultimately wins the Democratic crown, they're unavoidably conveying to the electorate the message that even though they're in complete confusion about their standard-bearer this late in the campaign, they can be trusted to run the country," Tonelson said.
The analyst commented that the only hope Democrats now have is that Trump might say something embarrassing or disastrous to discredit himself at the last moment.
"Trump remains such an erratic figure that it's entirely conceivable that he could snatch defeat from the jaws of likely victory. But that possibility seems to be the Democrats' only real hope of retaining the White House," Tonelson added.
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