Harris vs Trump: A generational, ideological clash

President Joe Biden's exit from the US presidential contest was neither courageous nor convenient. To be courageous, he needed to follow his own 2020 pledge to be a one-term transitional president and allow his Democrat party to choose his successor in traditional primary contests which took place months ago. This would have given candidates wide exposure and publicity ahead of the August Democratic Party Convention in Chicago where the nomination will be formalised. By hanging on, Biden has wasted valuable time which his Republican rival Donald Trump has used to his advantage by campaigning energetically. The Democrats have to settle on a candidate quickly as the election for president and Congress is on November 5th. So far, Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris has made the running, unchallenged, snapped up endorsements from party grandees and legislators, and secured tens of millions of dollars to fund her campaign. She is also heir to the hefty Biden-Harris campaign chest.

Biden's decision to stand aside has finished off legacy policy initiatives, like Supreme Court reform, during his final months in office. While US presidents are often rendered "lame ducks" at this time, Biden has turned himself into a "dead duck" when he should be addressing major challenges at home and abroad. As far as this region is concerned, Biden made his announcement on the eve of Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu's arrival in Washington, where he is to address Congress on Thursday. His visit coincides with reports that Israel and Hamas were on the verge of reaching a ceasefire deal which would end the Gaza war. A push from Biden might have led to its adoption by Israel. Now that Biden is out of the race, the push could come from Harris, even if she does press for a deal, Netanyahu could dismiss a Gaza ceasefire he does not want and continue to expand the war to Lebanon and Yemen.

Biden's late departure has made the US race for the White House unpredictable. While Biden has anointed Harris as his replacement at the top of the ticket, she is problematic. She is a woman of Asian-African descent in a misogynist and racist country and leans more to the left than most Democrat and independent voters.

Although she has been energetically campaigning in recent months, she was not prominent during most of Biden's presidency. At the outset she was assigned the impossible immigration file, a major issue in the election campaign. On the positive side, during the Gaza war, she called on Israel to avoid bombing populated areas and allow humanitarian aid into the strip. She did not adopt Biden’s supine posture towards Netanyahu.

While Harris has the backing of senior Democrat party figures and party heads in all 50 states, there were calls for an open contest for the nomination. While pledging to earn the nomination, Harris has pre-empted a contest by securing verbal support from more than half the delegates to the August Democratic National Convention. Democrats could hold a virtual roll call to confirm their votes. As this could be an attempt at correct procedure for a political party, Democrats seek to make a distinction between their party and Trump, who has gutted the Republican party and turned it into his personal political vehicle.

Harris now to choose a vice president. Before Biden's exit, Politico.com reported BlueLabs poll findings which showed that several alternative candidates could attract Democrats alienated by Biden, third party, undecided and Trump voters. "Voters are looking for a fresh face and prefer candidates not associated with the Biden administration,” BlueLabs found.

Once she is formally confirmed as nominee, Harris will have to redraft the Democratic electoral platform, released on July 13, which is geared to Biden's candidacy. The Middle East figured brief mention only: "President Biden remains committed to a durable peace in the Middle East bolstered by regional integration and a negotiated two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognised borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own." These are goals which Biden did not pursue during his time in the White House.

 Faced with a more energetic candidate than Biden, Trump is being forced to alter his narrow, reactionary "Make America Great Again" approach to reach beyond his loyal base to independents, third party voters and dissident Democrats. His choice of newly elected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, a hardline conservative, has shrunk rather than widened Trump's appeal.

The boost Trump received from being lightly wounded in an assassination attempt has been overtaken by the headline grabbing departure of an elderly, tired Biden who had to combine campaigning with running the country. Like Trump, Harris can campaign full time. Harris, 59, is a generation younger than Trump, 78, who would be 82 when leaves office if he were re-elected.

Trump is now the "old white man" in the race while Harris is a comparatively young woman of colour. He is a politically regressive "Make America Great Again" ex-president convicted of 324 felonies and facing cases for hoarding classified documents at home, fines for business fraud, and a multi million-dollar award for liable. She has served competently as vice president, is a progressive, and a lawyer who was California's attorney general vigorously prosecuting criminals before entering politics.