Even as a rising number of their fellow Democrats questioned the commander-in-2024 chief’s aspirations, Vice President Kamala Harris excitedly renewed her support for President Joe Biden’s reelection on Sunday.
Harris also made an effort to avoid commenting specifically on the Justice Department’s shocking probe into Donald Trump’s handling of secret materials during a lengthy interview on NBC News’ Meet The Press.
She did, however, mention that “people are going to seek justice” in a broad sense, referencing her prior experience as a US prosecutor, and she added that they would be doing so “rightly.”
The White House continues to claim that the president hasn’t been informed about the operation or spoken about it.
Since the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, last month, there have been worries about the image of a Democrat president’s administration looking into a political competitor, should the former president publicly announce his 2024 bid.
When asked whether Biden intended to run again after the midterm elections in November, Harris said, “Listen, the president has been pretty clear that he wants to run again.”
And if he does, I will gladly run with him, she said in the recorded conversation.
The California Democrat’s endorsement of Biden comes as other Democrats in his party express reservations about his potential candidacy, most notably his advanced age.
Just one day before Biden visited his state, Ohio senatorial candidate and Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan called for a “generational transition” in leadership.
Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, who is also a left-leaning candidate for the Senate, chose not to join Biden for a Labor Day address in Milwaukee.
On election day in 2024, the president will be 81 years old, breaking the previous record.
In response to a question about whether or how she and Biden had addressed the “worst case scenario” of his death while in office, Harris remained mum on Sunday.
“I hope not,” you say. And pay attention, I believe there is no doubt that the vice president’s position carries a lot of weight and responsibility. And nobody is more aware of it than Joe Biden. The vice president added, “He and I discuss it.”
‘And it is my responsibility to work with the president, doing what I can to be a great partner, to take on and help take on some of the most significant challenges that influence our nation, both domestically and in terms of foreign policy,’ the president said. So that’s what I do for a living.
If the Justice Department decided to charge Trump in the event that its investigation establishes that he handled secret data improperly in violation of federal law, that would be another issue for Biden and Harris to worry about on the campaign road in the future.
Federal charges will not likely prevent Trump from running for office, according to political analysts.
But given the growing number of GOP allegations that his officials are using the Justice Department as a weapon against his main electoral rival, it may cause Biden some trouble.
Harris chose not to comment on Sunday when asked if the government’s future charges against the former president should take these issues into account.
But when questioned whether accusing Trump would be too polarising, she subsequently seemed to embrace cries for “justice.”
I wouldn’t have the audacity to direct the Department of Justice. As a former prosecutor, I can assure you that I am not in the business of directing a prosecutor how to handle a case because they are the ones who are most familiar with the facts and the law, according to Harris.
The president, I, and our administration, unlike the previous administration, have been very, very careful to ensure that there is no question about any kind of interference in terms of the decisions that the Department of Justice makes, she said, taking a shot at Trump’s tight control over his own Justice Department.
Let me attempt to get to 60,000 feet,’ the host said. What response do you have to the claim that prosecuting a former president would be too polarising for the nation?
The vice president said, “I believe that our nation has seen many times when the unimaginable has occurred, when there has been a need for justice, and where justice has been served.”
And I believe that the people in this nation will conceivably always demand justice, as they have a right to do.