‘Ready to step up’: VP Harris gains Capitol Hill cheerleaders as Biden isolates with Covid

Vice
President

Kamala
Harris
has
gained
more
public
support
from
Democratic
lawmakers
as
a
potential
replacement
for

President
Joe
Biden,
should
he
decide
to
drop
out
of
the
race
against
former
President

Donald
Trump.

California
Rep.

Mark
Takano
on
Saturday
became
the
thirty-sixth

Democrat
on

Capitol
Hill
to
call
on

Biden
to
exit
the
race
on
the
record.
He
added
that
he
believes
Harris
should
be
the
one
to
helm
the
ticket.

“President
Biden’s
greatest
accomplishment
remains
saving
democracy
in
2020.
He
can
and
must
do
so
again
in
2024
—
by
passing
the
torch
to
Vice
President
Harris
as
the
Democratic
Party
Presidential
nominee,”
Takano
said
in
a
statement.

“It
has
become
clear
to
me
that
the
demands
of
a
modern
campaign
are
now
best
met
by
the
Vice
President,
who
can
seamlessly
transition
into
the
role
of
our
party’s
standard
bearer,”
he
said.

Earlier
in
July,
Takano
was
one
of
several
Democratic
committee
ranking
members
who
voiced
his
concerns
about
Biden’s
reelection
bid
in
a
private
meeting
with

House
Democratic
leadership.

Though
some
Democrats
have
been
angling
for
an

open
convention
if
Biden
exits,
Takano
has
positioned
himself
within
the
sect
of
the
party
that
sees
Harris
as
the
rightful
heir
to
the
top
of
the
ticket,
along
with
the
campaign’s
war
chest
of
at
least
$91
million.

Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren,
D-Mass.,
said
Saturday
that
Harris
“is
ready
to
step
up
and
unite
the
party,”
should
the
president
decide
to
exit
the
race.
Warren
has
not
officially
called
for
Biden
to
exit
the
race.

“Joe
Biden
is
our
nominee.
He
has
a
very
big
decision
to
make,
but
we
are
very
lucky
to
have
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris.
Eighty
million
people
voted
for
her
to
step
up
if
she
is
needed,”
Warren
said
in
an
interview
on
MSNBC’s
“The
Weekend.”

“Look,
if
you’re
running
against
a
convicted
felon,
then
a
prosecutor
like
Kamala
is
really
a
good
person
to
make
that
case,”
she
added.

Since
Biden’s
stumbling
June
27
debate
flub
against
Trump,
looming
concerns
about
his
age
and
ability
to
win
in
November
have
left
deep
cracks
within
the
Democratic
Party.
Dozens
of
Democratic
lawmakers,
donors
and
strategists
have
called
on
him
to
drop
out,
despite
his
defiant
commitment
to
stay
in
the
race.

The

Washington
Post
reported
Saturday
that
some
donors
are
organizing
funds
to
vet
potential
vice
presidential
picks
in
case
the
current
Democratic
ticket
changes.

While
the
Democratic
rifts
widen,
the
president
is
still
isolating
with
Covid
in
Rehoboth
Beach,
Del.

The
Biden
campaign
has
continued
to
publicly
and
defiantly
reject
the
heightening
drop-out
pressure,
pledging
that
the
president
will
remain
in
the
race
and
return
to
the
campaign
trail
when
he
is
Covid-free.

“As
soon
as
we
have
the
green
light,
we
are
going
to
be
back
out
on
the
stump,”
Biden
campaign
spokesperson
Michael
Tyler
told
reporters
Saturday
morning.

Tyler
said
that
Biden
is
expected
to
get
back
to
campaigning
“in
earnest”
next
week.

Biden
on
Saturday
had
completed
his
sixth
round
of
the
antiviral
Covid
treatment,
Paxlovid,
and
was
recovering
“steadily,”
according
to
an
update
from
his

doctor,
Kevin
O’Connor.

In
the
meantime,
Harris
is
shouldering
the
campaign’s
message.
On
Saturday,
she
delivered
remarks
at
a
campaign
fundraiser
in
Massachusetts
that
raised
over
$2
million.
And
on
Friday,
Harris
joined
a
call
with
Democratic
donors
where
she
doubled
down
on
her
support
for
Biden,
according
to
NBC
News.

“We
know
which
candidate
in
this
election
puts
the
American
people
first: our
President,
Joe
Biden,”
she
said.
“We
are
going
to
win
this
election.
We
are
going
to
win.”

Conservatives
have
so
far
basked
in
the
emerging
Democratic
divisions,
especially
coming
off
of
the
Republican
National
Convention
convention,
a
gleeful
four-day
celebration
of
Trump,
their
officially
minted
nominee.

On
Saturday,
Ohio
Sen.
JD
Vance,
Trump’s
newly
selected
running
mate,
capitalized
on
the
Democratic
pressure,
calling
on
Biden
to
not
just
exit
the
race
but
wholly
resign
from
his
post.

“Everyone
calling
on
Joe
Biden
to
*stop
running*
without
also
calling
on
him
to
resign
the
presidency
is
engaged
in
an
absurd
level
of
cynicism,”

Vance
wrote
in
a
post
on
X.
“If
you
can’t
run,
you
can’t
serve.
He
should
resign
now.”

Some
of
Biden’s
allies
are
staying
out
of
the
pressure
campaign,
instead
backing
whatever
path
forward
the
president
settles
on.

Former
President

Bill
Clinton
and
former
Secretary
of
State

Hillary
Clinton,
for
example,
have
remained
“deferential”
on
Biden’s
decision
to
keep
his
campaign
alive,
two
people
familiar
with
the
Clintons’
thinking
told
NBC
News
on
Saturday.

The
Clintons
have
actively
tried
to
maintain
donors’
support
for
Biden
and
have
told
the
White
House
that
they
would
help
however
they
can,
the
people
said.

Though
Biden
has
acknowledged
the
concerns
about
his
age,
he
has
remained
steadfast
about
his
case
for
reelection
and
partly
blames
the
media
for
focusing
too
much
on
his
political
vulnerabilities,
even
as
some
recent
voter
polls
reflect
his
slipping
support.

Protesters
with
a
grassroots
group
called
“Pass
the
Torch”
gathered
on
the
White
House
sidewalk
on
Saturday,
praising
Biden’s
track
record
as
president
but
urging
him
to
drop
his
bid
for
a
second
term.

“We
are
ready
to
unite
behind
a
new
nominee
and
do
everything
in
our
power
to
electorally
kick
Donald
Trump’s
ass
in
November,”
Aaron
Regunberg,
one
of
the
leaders
of
the
organization,
cried
out.
“We’re
begging
you
Joe,
if
you’re
listening,
be
the
hero.
Be
the
public
servant,
be
the
leader
that
we
know
you
are.
Pass
the
torch.”