It was reported this morning by Axios that Joe Biden worries that Kamala isn’t up to taking on President Trump and that’s why he hesitated to drop out of the race for president.
Here’s the report:
President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t up to taking on Donald Trump, according to three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans.
This next week will be critical for Harris, 59, to prove doubters wrong as she moves quickly to try to clear the field of potential challengers for the Democratic nomination.
Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton and many Democratic lawmakers quickly endorsed Harris, but others — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former President Barack Obama — did not immediately do so.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said in a statement. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
Apparently Biden isn’t the only one. We told you last night that Pelosi has been saying privately that she thinks Kamala as the nominee would be worse than Biden.
And the four biggest players in the Democratic Party have yet to endorse Kamala, which says a lot. I’m sure they will release statements later today and this week, but even if they are endorsements, per se, I doubt they will be full-throated endorsements. Because they all know she’s horrible.
Axios also reminds us that Kamala can’t keep staffers because she’s a terrible boss:
Harris’ time as vice president has been occasionally rocky, defined in part by large staff turnover, retreating from politically risky responsibilities, and mocking from some Beltway insiders.
Much of Harris’ staff has turned over in the past 3½ years.
About half of the vice president’s staff is paid by the Senate, which requires regular disclosures. Of the 47 Harris staffers listed in 2021, only five still worked for her as of this spring, according to the disclosures. Her full staff list is not publicly disclosed.
During Obama’s first term, then-Vice President Biden had far more staff stability, as 17 of 38 of his aides stayed with him over a similar period, according to the disclosures for staff paid by the Senate.
Former Harris aides told Axios the high turnover is partly because of how the vice president treats her staff.
And they also include this concerning tidbit about her, about how she was so nervous about being invited to a salon-style event that her staff held a practice session so she wouldn’t embarrass herself:
In April 2022, Harris was the guest for a dinner at D.C. news mogul David Bradley’s home — a salon-style event Bradley hosts with Washington journalists and newsmakers.
Harris’ anxiety about the dinner was such that her staff held a mock dinner beforehand, with staffers playing participants, according to two people familiar with the event.
Harris aides even considered including wine in the mock prep so Harris could practice with a glass or two.
They ultimately decided against it.
I have serious doubts that Kamala will be the nominee at the DNC, but if she is I think it will be better for Trump. I had worried beforehand that I didn’t want the Democratic Party to have an infusion of new energy, but Kamala is pretty horrible and I think the American people will reject her in large part because she’s so radical and unserious.