Time to Turn the Page: Kamala Harris for President

President Biden said something hugely significant this week. Speaking at an NAACP event, Biden slammed Donald Trump for claiming that immigrants were “taking Black jobs.” “I know what a Black job is,” Biden told the crowd. “It’s the vice president of the United States.”

But he didn’t stop there. “Folks, because of you, I am president and Kamala Harris is vice president,” he continued. And then he added the real kicker: “And, by the way, she’s not only a great vice president, she could be president of the United States.”

Biden’s right! Kamala Harris could be the 47th president of the United States. She could be elected president this year. If only Biden would do the right thing – for the country, for the Democratic Party, and for his own legacy – and step aside.

Last Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a traumatic event for the nation. We’re all grateful he escaped with only a minor wound, but the aftermath of that shooting has already had a major impact on the 2024 campaign: positive for Republicans; negative for Democrats.

For Republicans, the positive provides a new burst of enthusiasm for Trump, despite his multiple felony convictions; more excuses for portraying him as a victim; and one more opportunity to blame Democrats for gun violence (even though they’re the ones who block any gun safety legislation). For Democrats, the negative is two-fold: a strong feeling among some Democrats that the failed assassination attempt changes everything; and a belief among many that it’s time to bury any attempts to convince Joe Biden to step down. Both conclusions are dead wrong.

As I wrote in The Hill newspaper, earlier this week: “What happened last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, changes nothing – except, hopefully, to encourage people, starting with Donald Trump, to tone down the hate-filled rhetoric. Otherwise the choice remains the same: between a convicted felon and failed former president and an honorable public servant and effective current president, who’s achieved more in four years than most presidents do in eight.”

Nothing has changed. The issues are the same. The stakes are the same. The threat to democracy is the same. And the need to convince Joe Biden to bow out of the race is the same.

And let me make one thing perfectly clear. I’ve come to this conclusion, not out of any dislike of or disappointment in Biden. Au contraire! I’m a longtime fan of Biden’s. Always underrated, he’s the ultimate comeback kid. And he’s turned out to be one of the best and most effective presidents of our lifetime.

But, as he might say, “here’s the deal.” I want him to go out in a blaze of glory. I want him to be remembered, as he once promised, as a great “bridge” president. The man who saved this country from Donald Trump in 2020, who got this economy back on track, who restored our leadership in the free world, who proved that bipartisanship can still work, and – here’s the only missing element so far: who had the wisdom to know when it was time to pass the torch to the next generation.

Do I think Joe Biden could do the job for another four years? Yes! The problem is, Biden has to convince most Americans that he’s up to the job, not just yellow-dog Democrats like me. And he simply hasn’t done that. Not in the debate. Not in the George Stephanopolous interview. Not in the solo news conference. Not in the Lester Holt interview. And it’s not going to get any better.

It's in Joe Biden’s own best interest to step aside. And there’s no reason other than stubborn ego that he hasn’t yet done so. Especially when there are so many dynamic, younger, more energetic candidates available, including Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, Wes Moore, Josh Shapiro, Roy Moore, Gretchen Whitmer and others.

But the strongest of them all, I believe, is vice president Kamala Harris. She has more experience than all the others. The transition from Biden to Harris would be the easiest for Biden and the smoothest for the party. And, after a rocky start, she’s proven to be a powerful campaigner, especially on the key issues of reproductive freedom, voting rights, and civil rights. She’d destroy Donald Trump in any presidential debate.

Biden made history by bringing us the first female vice president. He should now solidify his place in history by opening the door to the first female, African-American president. That would be the capstone of Biden’s career.

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(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod.)