Still time for Democrats to draft someone who can beat Trump

US President Joe Biden may be the only Democrat likely to lose to his predecessor in November.

Kamala Harris would be the favourite to replace Joe Biden but is hardly a sure thing to beat Donald Trump. Picture: Getty Images

Joe Biden insists he’s staying in the White House race. If that doesn’t change, it’ll be because of his selfishness and congressional Democrats’ pusillanimity. Both have kept Biden’s deeply flawed candidacy afloat.

He insists that “the Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down” to force his withdrawal. But he’s mistaken to say he’s the person most qualified to beat Trump. He may be the only Democrat likely to lose to him.

It’s delusional for Biden to believe he’s winning the race. But since the president is getting political advice from his son Hunter, it’s clear he doesn’t have a rational decision-making process. Bottom line: No presidential candidate whose party is as severely divided, dispirited and unenthusiastic as Democrats are today has ever won.

Rather than accept the national consensus that the President isn’t up to the job, Team Biden is trying to push past this moment. But teleprompter speeches before small crowds, call-ins to friendly radio and television hosts, and a handful of awkward public appearances in the next few weeks won’t turn this around –especially since Biden continues stumbling even in the most controlled settings.

One group is very enthusiastic about Biden’s insistence on staying in the race: Team Trump.

That campaign team understands that Biden’s debate performance now makes it difficult for Trump to blow the race. As long as the former president sounds sensible, avoids recording devices on golf courses and stays away from Truth Social late at night, he has the upper hand.

What if Biden decides to withdraw? That would up-end everything.

Contrary to what Biden’s supporters say, the convention to replace him need not degenerate into a brawl. Hopefuls might slip opposition research to journalists to discredit or weaken their competitors, but that’s as far as the mudslinging is likely to go. Any Democrat who ran would understand that public nastiness is a sure path to defeat and perhaps even to future irrelevance. Outwardly, each would accentuate the positive by arguing he or she is the best Democrat to beat Trump.

All but 43 of the 3939 convention delegates were slated by the Biden campaign. The Chicago gathering won’t be a bunch of Bernie Bros or “Squad” members; instead, it’ll be mostly normal Democrats who want to win the election. If no candidate gets a first-ballot majority when the regular delegates vote, then 739 Democratic Party so-called superdelegates can vote. Talk about a crew of practical politicos focused on victory. And we’ll be glued to our screens the entire convention.

Vice-President Kamala Harris would be the favourite but hardly the sure thing. Her 2020 bid revealed that she’s a weak candidate. Her unfavourable numbers are worse than Biden’s and Trump’s. And she’s in charge of border policy – how has that worked out?

If there’s a new nominee, that person could keep Harris as vice-president to avoid ditching the first black and Asian-American female veep.

It’s true Biden’s war chest can’t be transferred to any candidate except Harris – and only after he’s nominated and then withdraws. But it can be transferred to a super political action committee supporting the Democrat nominee.

Money may not matter as much for a new face.

Remember this winter when polls pitted Republican Nikki Haley against Biden in a hypothetical match-up? She led him in December by 6 percentage points in a Fox poll and in January by 8 points in a YouGov-CBS News poll and 13 points in a CNN survey.

If Democrats picked Arizona senator Mark Kelly or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, they could find themselves similarly ahead. Americans want new faces.

Biden’s fundraising email on Monday said that “this election is bigger than me or you”. If he really believes that, the president should exit the race.

The Wall Street Journal

Karl Rove twice masterminded the election to the White House of George W. Bush.