Vice President Harris has “pulled the Democratic campaign out of free fall” as she emerges as the party’s near-certain presidential nominee, Chris Whipple, a biographer of President Biden, wrote Wednesday.
In a guest essay for The New York Times, Whipple wrote that Harris has “accomplished the seemingly impossible” in just a matter of weeks. He wrote that Harris’s “nearly flawless start knocked the Trump campaign on its heels,” noting that former President Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) have yet to find a strong line of attack against her.
“The presumptive Democratic nominee has navigated the most politically fraught situation imaginable — a president’s reluctant abdication from the Democratic ticket — and rallied the party around her,” Whipple wrote.
“She’s outmaneuvered potential rivals, galvanized voters and volunteers, shattered fund-raising records and pulled the Democratic campaign out of free fall,” he continued.
Biden announced that he would be endorsing Harris for the Democratic nomination shortly after he revealed his decision to withdraw from the race. Over the last 10 days, Harris has rallied the Democrat Party and sparked enthusiasm among voters for her campaign.
Whipple, the author of “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House,” said Harris should prepare “for a barrage of incoming negative attacks” and noted that Trump’s allies have already “stirred up racist and sexist innuendo.”
Some Republicans used diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) politics to attack Harris over the last week, but others warned them to back off and focus on policy issues instead.
Whipple reiterated that Harris must “define herself before Mr. Trump and his allies can define her,” noting that many voters do not know her yet.
“The jabs against Ms. Harris will be blunted if she can burnish her identity now and pivot to prosecuting Mr. Trump’s flaws,” Whipple wrote.
“Even with Joe Biden out of the race, Mr. Trump’s best hope is to run against the Biden-Harris record. If the race is about Mr. Trump’s character, the 34-count felon faces an uphill battle,” he continued.
