Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker has suggested concerns about President Joe Biden’s age could be solved by replacing Vice President Kamala Harris with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will likely be remembered by her humiliating loss to Donald Trump in 2016.
Parker argued in the op-ed that Harris’ poor popularity rating justified the running mate replacement. The columnist highlighted the “lackluster” performance of the vice president, and suggested that it was her lack of competence rather than her race or sex that impeded the Biden-Harris campaign.
In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, released a report on Biden’s misplacement of highly confidential documents during his time as vice president. Hur concluded that, though Biden was a “well-meaning” and “sympathetic” old man, he suffered from a poor memory and had knowingly misplaced the top secret documents.
Both Republicans and Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have long raised questions about Biden’s mental wellbeing and ability to hold unscripted debates. Biden’s supporters, however, such as actor Michael Douglas, have continued to insist that the 81-year-old is as “sharp as a tack”. Biden angrily dismissed Hur’s claims and insisted there were no problems with his mental wellbeing.
Conservatives have suggested that Harris is relied on to assist a “weak” president, and speculated in 2023 that Harris was fully aware that Biden may not last a second full term in the White House. Harris has not performed better than either Trump or Biden in polls, however, and her positivity rating was lower than both candidates at 31% in 2023. Phrased differently; VP Harris has the lowest net approval rating of any VP in the history of modern polling.
Polls have found Biden’s age to be a leading concern among voters, as more Democratic voters question whether the incumbent president is fit enough for another four years in the White House. Parker claimed that Clinton, 76, would be the obvious substitute for Harris. She highlighted the impact of Clinton’s activity in the news cycle suggesting to voters that, had she not been defeated by Trump in 2016, the country would not be caught in a dilemma of being governed by “old white men”.
Clinton is also reiterating her support for Israel and reminding voters of her past role in the Obama administration. Regarding the suggestion to replace Biden’s running mate with an alternative only a few years younger than the incumbent president, Parker said it was “just a thought” but that “worse ideas” had still managed to succeed.
