Is it time for President Joe Biden to replace Vice President Kamala Harris?
During a segment of HBOâs âReal Time with Bill Maher,â host Bill Maher made a case for a change.
âWhat I could see is replacing the vice president because sheâs not very popular anywhere. And it didnât seem to work out⌠Thatâs been done before in a ticket,â Maher said.
The Atlanticâs Caitlin Flanagan chimed in to argue the vice president is âfor some reason an off-putting personâ and has a lot of âbaggage.â
âI just think sheâs a bad politician. And⌠I think sheâs a very bright person,â Maher said.
He went on, âBut I can see them doing that because a lot of the problem with Biden being old is, âOh, if he dies, then you know youâre gonna get this person.â OK, so hereâs the problem with the Democratic Party. Theyâre so boxed in by identity politics that you cannot conceive of a Democratic ticket that doesnât have a woman and person of color on it.â
âAnd pretty soon, youâre gonna line up behind that gay, Latino, and youâre gonna have to have, you know, a deaf Eskimo,â Maher joked.
Watch the video below:
Maherâs comments come after Harris mistakenly said the United States has an alliance with North Korea.
And after she suggested relief for Hurricane Ian should be distributed with a focus on âgiving resources based on equity.â
âWe have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality but we also need to fight for equity, understanding not everyone starts out at the same place,â Harris said Friday.
Additionally, FiveThirtyEightâs average of polls finds just 38.9% of Americans approve of Harrisâ job performance while 50.4% disapprove, as of Sept. 26.
Getting rid of Harris would likely be a double-edged sword for Biden.
It would alleviate any headaches caused by her.
But it would also force his team to explain why they were not sticking with the first woman and first woman of color to serve as vice president. And what motivation would Harris have to step aside quietly?
At the same time, elevating a politician to the second highest office in the country could pose a risk that they would outshine Biden. And Democrats might start to clammer for the new star and urge him not to run in 2024, so the new vice president could run for president.
