New Orleans
CNN
—
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday focused on the dangers of a second Trump administration rather than growing concerns about President Joe Biden’s candidacy, as she tried to persuade Black voters to again give the Biden-Harris ticket a victory.
“This is probably the most important election of our lifetimes,” Harris said during a moderated conversation at New Orleans’ Essence Festival, arguing that former President Donald Trump has “openly” stated that if re-elected, “I intend to be a dictator from day one.”
Harris’ stop at the annual Black music and cultural festival comes as Biden’s campaign seeks to revive parts of the coalition that catapulted him to the White House in 2020.
Biden beat Trump among black voters 87% to 12% in the 2020 presidential election, according to CNN exit polls. But Trump has been making inroads among key voting groups recently: A New York Times/Siena College battleground-state survey released in May found Trump winning more than 20% of black voters in his battle against Biden, a record if that were to translate into November’s vote.
Harris tried to convince festival-goers that they could “get it done” if they voted in record numbers again.
“The people voted “We had record numbers in 2020, and that’s what we were able to do, and if everyone votes again in those same numbers in 122 days, we can get it done,” Harris said.
The White House has struggled in recent days to quell concerns about the president’s mental state and the viability of his campaign following Biden’s poor performance at last week’s CNN presidential debate. Some Democrats have called on the president to closely examine his reelection effort, while others have called for him to resign. Biden has remained defiant, telling reporters in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday that he would “completely rule out” withdrawing from the campaign.
Many see Harris as the obvious choice to succeed Biden if he leaves office — a recent CNN post-debate poll showed her outperforming Biden in a hypothetical matchup with Trump — but some Republicans want to avoid Harris as the presidential nominee, believing a matchup with Biden would give Trump an easier path back to the White House.
But Harris has repeatedly defended Biden, and CNN reported earlier this week that the vice president and his staff had deliberately ignored most of Biden’s calls and emails, reiterating that Harris intended to stand by Biden.
On Saturday, the moderator didn’t ask Biden specifically about worries about his reelection, allowing the vice president to avoid speaking about the concerns within his party. Meanwhile, other Biden surrogates at the event addressed the issue head-on, voicing their support for the president and assuring voters that he’s not going anywhere.
Rep. Joyce Beatty said Biden should not drop out of the race because of just one debate.
“We’ve all had a bad day,” the Ohio Democrat said, before adding, “Don’t turn your back on this president and go out.”
California Rep. Maxine Waters stressed that “Biden isn’t going anywhere.”
Asked whether she would support fellow Californian Harris if the president withdrew, Waters said: “We’re looking at Biden and the fact that he’s not only done a good job but we expect him to continue to do so.”
Many festival-goers who spoke to CNN said they believe Harris would be prepared to take Biden’s place if he were to drop out of the race, but ultimately said voters plan to cast their ballots in November no matter who the Democratic nominee is.
“Keep the ticket intact. Her time will come. … Stick to the plan. You had a plan. Stick to the plan. It’s worked before. It’s going to work this time,” said New Orleans resident Jeri Peris.
Peris said Biden’s poor debate performance was a “one-off”, adding: “Everybody has bad days. He’s a good president. He’s a good man. He’s done great things. Everybody has bad days.”
Laura Morgan Roberts of Washington, D.C., said it would be a “no brainer” to vote for Biden in November, but added that she had “100% confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris’s ability, her commitment and her desire to lead the country and do what’s best for the American people.”
Meanwhile, Michelle Buxton of Chattanooga, Tennessee, told CNN, “They don’t seem to be giving him a chance.”
“We all work here together and this almost seems like a personal issue,” Buxton said. “I just don’t think they should take him off.”
CNN’s Eric Bradner, Ali Main and Veronica Straqualusi contributed to this report.
