Tick tock…
The selection of a presidential candidate’s running mate is pivotal because, in part, it’s the first major and consequential decision a presidential candidate makes: The person they feel is ready to be president at a moment’s notice if necessary – in addition to whatever value they bring when it comes to balancing a ticket.
This is why Joe Biden proved his leadership skills as a candidate when he selected Kamala Harris as his running mate back in 2020, and why Donald Trump showed he’s still as unserious about the job now as he was four years ago when he picked Silicon Valley clown JD Vance as his running mate, who brings nothing to the GOP ticket for president but more awful weirdness. Why he needed to pick someone besides Mike Pence in 2024 is a whole other conversation by itself that the media refuses to have.
By the time this is posted, we may already know who the next vice president will be. I have no doubt that whoever it is will be a strong asset to the ticket. Everyone mentioned in the media as a potential pick has their own unique strengths that will help us. However, at no given point during the so-called ‘veepstakes’ has there ever really been a strong indicator that any particular candidate was being favored. In other words, there were essentially no leaks during the two weeks of vetting from anyone on Vice President Harris’ team. This suggests a solid and disciplined core team working behind the scenes – the same consistency and masterful strategy that the vice president also used when navigating behind the scenes during the days when President Biden considered dropping out of the race.
It’s a solid reason to trust the process and the candidate she ultimately ends up selecting. That’s why we need to get behind the Harris ticket and make Vice President Harris our Madam President-elect on Nov 5.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making