Why 2020 Wasn't Kamala Harris' Moment — But 2024 Could Be

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It’s hard to believe it’s been only five days since President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid and “passing the torch” to Vice President Kamala Harris.

It’s even harder to believe how well these five days have gone for her.

Harris has gotten the endorsement of every would-be challenger and major party leader ― including, as of Friday morning, former President Barack Obama . She’s secured pledges of support from the vast majority of Democratic delegates, far more than she needs to lock down the nomination. She’s raised more than $100 million and drawn tens of thousands of supporters onto campaign organizing calls. She even got permission from Beyoncé to use a song in a campaign video.

And then there are the Republicans, who seem to be struggling a bit. Nominee and former President Donald Trump keeps raising objections to the prospect of debating Harris, in a way that sounds an awful lot like he’s trying to duck out. His campaign is busy contextualizing and rationalizing past comments by running mate JD Vance in which the Ohio senator suggested that women should stay in abusive marriages, and that “ childless cat ladies ” ― that is, adults with no biological children ― should have less voting power.

The sheer giddiness among Democrats is palpable, in a way I’ve seen only twice in my lifetime: in 1992 with Bill Clinton, and in 2008 with Obama. Notably, those were years in which Democrats were finally on the verge of breaking an extended Republican hold on the White House. This time, though, the incumbent is a Democrat. It says something about the desperation to stop Trump from returning to the White House ―