Vice President Harris Faces Serious Risks of Unpopularity and Backlash

‘Before I became a legislator, I cracked down on criminals of all stripes. Those who abuse women and those who cheat consumers. …… I know very well what kind of man Mr. Trump is.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, is the likely Democratic candidate to replace President Biden, 81, who has announced his withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race. At her first campaign rally, she was scathing in her criticism of her opponent, former President Trump (78). The wind is blowing in her favor right now,” said Kazuhiro Maejima, a professor at Sophia University who specializes in contemporary American politics and diplomacy.

When President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, Brett Kavanaugh, was accused of sexual assault in the past, Harris raised her stock by sharply pursuing the allegation. She had risen from district attorney to state attorney general in California. Following that time, she has struck clean and succeeded.”

During the campaign, Trump criticized Biden as an “old man,” but in passing the baton to Harris, the Democrats have succeeded in changing generations. The fact that she is the first female presidential candidate is also a major factor in breaking the “almost tiger” mood. However, Harris also has some concerns that could be painful if she is poked.

He reportedly had an affair with Willie Brown, who served as mayor of San Francisco when he was in his twenties. Mr. Harris never admitted it, but Mr. Brown did in ’19 in an interview with a local newspaper. There is a risk that the limelight will reignite the scandal and cause a firestorm of ‘Is he the right person to be at the head of the country?

Also, although she has served as vice president since the start of the Biden administration, she has not been successful in the immigration policy she was entrusted with, and the White House has dared to keep her under wraps to avoid putting her in the line of fire.’ She is also seriously unpopular with her own people, with the office staff turnover rate ranking first among senators in 19 years. There is a fear that her qualifications as a leader may be questioned.

Will Harris be able to ride this tailwind and continue his fight? Mr. Maejima’s outlook is bleak.

In the final stages of the presidential race, the outcome will depend on the dovish campaign in which both camps will go door-to-door in order to win over independents, and the situation can be described as a war of words. It is quite possible that the Trump campaign will bring up Harris’ past adultery scandal and move, ‘Don’t vote for Harris because she is an outrageous woman. Her clean image will be destroyed, and it could turn into a mudslinging match.”

The campaign between Biden and Trump was described as “the worst presidential race in history. Although Harris’s appearance briefly gave the race a clean slate, chaos seems inevitable.

From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY