The God-Empress of Washington

Kamala Harris can have anything she wants—except one thing.

The only way Kamala Harris becomes president of these United States is if Joe Biden vacates the office before Election Day. Were that to happen, it is almost certain that her sole memorable act in office would be handing the keys over to Donald Trump, who is set to thrash Biden in the election and who might very well thrash Harris worse if the polls taken before 11 minutes ago are to be believed. With my usual caveat that the man is unfairly maligned, Biden and Harris would end up with something like Neville Chamberlain’s reputation if they usher Trump back into the Oval Office. 

If Harris could admit to herself the reality of her political position—she isn’t going to be elected president in the foreseeable future and currently is pointed like a rocket at a career-and-reputation-ending disaster—then she would appreciate that she is in a terrific position nonetheless. She ought to be the happiest person in Washington because she has two things in her pocket: the capacity to drive Joe Biden off the ticket, and the opportunity to benefit from this mightily.

You can imagine the press conference: “It has been my honor to serve with such a great and honorable man as Joe Biden, but I can no longer ignore his rapid decline in recent months, and the country cannot afford to risk …” blah, blah, blah. And, then: “I am honored that so many people in my party—people at the highest level—encouraged me to seek the presidency on my own, in part because of what that would mean to women and people of color. But I have decided that I can best serve my country by …”

Fill in the blank. There’s a gubernatorial election in California in 2026, and Gavin Newsom could do a great deal to clear the way for Harris if she wanted to be the Democratic nominee, which would all but ensure her election. She might even be good at the job—better than she was at being vice president, anyway. Maybe she’d like a prestigious professorship or the presidency of a university and a couple of Silicon Valley board sinecures; I suspect that the necessary vacancies could be arranged. Janet Napolitano was president of the University of California, which is not a bad gold watch for someone who topped out as a Cabinet member in Washington. The current UC system president earns a million bucks a year. Harris would probably get an eight-figure book deal, a cable-news contract if she wanted one—anything … except the presidency. 

If Harris clears the way for a more competitive Democrat, she’ll win her party’s thanks; if she clears the way for a Democrat who wins, they’ll try to put her on Mount Rushmore. 

And if you can imagine the press conference in which she gracefully steps aside, imagine the conversation before the press conference: “Mr. President, it’s been an honor. I’m going to go make some money and maybe run for governor of California. I don’t want to be blamed for handing the keys over to Trump. Do you want to make your resignation announcement before I gut you in public or a week and a half after the fact as you’re bleeding out? Because I’d vote for before.” 

Washington is full of bright, driven people, all of whom want … something. Some of them are idealists, some of them are professional grudge-nursers, some of them are status whores (in fact, all of them are status whores, but some are only status whores) who have been running for president since they were 15 years old, some of them just want to get paid and went to the place where they have the biggest pile of money. All of that intelligence and ambition, and nobody can figure out how to get what he wants by giving the Democratic Party—and the country—what it needs, which is Joe Biden gone. 

I hope Harris is having those conversations right now, though she should have been having them a year ago. If the so-called insiders and elites and establishment were one-sixth as Machiavellian and subtle and cynical as the conspiracy theorists would have you believe, Biden would have been out on his ear before his hospice-ready “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” debate performance terrified his party into … not action—no, not that! not yet!—but thinking and talking in a semi-serious way about action, of some kind, at some point, if conditions are favorable, taking some meetings, making some calls, if …

Kamala Harris can go down in ignominy by losing as vice president or, maybe, go down in ignominy by losing as president after serving in the office for 11 minutes, the Lady Jane Grey of American politics. Or she can do the country—and herself—a solid by sticking a political knife in the back of her boss and reaping the rewards.