Joe Biden had a challenging debate against Donald Trump on Thursday night, raising questions about how his vice president would perform in a similar situation. This debate in Atlanta marked their first face-off in nearly four years, and concerns about Biden’s age were front and center. At 81, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history, and his age became a focal point after he struggled during parts of the debate. He sounded hoarse and at one moment seemed to lose his train of thought. These issues led some Democrats to call for him to step aside as the party’s nominee.
With four months until Election Day and no clear front-runner to replace Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as a potential candidate. At 59, she is notably younger than both Biden and Trump, who is three years younger than Biden. Harris would be the easiest candidate for the Biden-Harris campaign to pivot to, and she would automatically become president if Biden resigned.
However, polls show Harris might face an even tougher battle against Trump. According to RealClearPolling numbers, Trump leads Harris by 6.6 percentage points, with 49.3% support to Harris’s 42.7%. In contrast, Trump is ahead of Biden by just 1.5 points, with 46.6% to Biden’s 45.1%.
A recent poll by Politico and Morning Consult found that only a third of voters believe Harris would win if she became the Democratic nominee. Even among Democrats, only three out of five think she would prevail.
Harris has faced criticism for not having a more defined and prominent role in the Biden administration. Less than a year into Biden’s presidency, the White House had to address concerns that Harris had not met expectations.
In April, a poll revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris’s popularity was nearly on par with that of Beyoncé. According to the April omnibus survey conducted by Echelon Insight, 43% of voters held a favorable view of Harris, while 45% felt the same about Beyoncé. Despite this near equivalence, the vice president faces twice as much unfavorable opinion, with 52% compared to Beyoncé’s 26%.
