Stephen A's Take: VP Harris is the Chosen One, Trump and Vance changing political tactics.

Published Jul 24, 2024, 10:00 AM

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

President Joe Biden decided to put the country and the Democratic party first and NOT seek re-election in November.  Biden made the surprise announcement Sunday and quickly endorsed VP Kamala Harris as his favorite to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket. I’ll get to Kamala Harris in a moment. Still, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge Biden’s decision not to seek a second term, which ended one of the longest political careers in American history. 

As news spread of Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election, high-profile democrats quickly endorsed Harris as their favorite candidate to replace him. 
Some of those names include Bill and Hillary Clinton, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, and A.O.C. aka New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who was once critical of both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The latest addition to the list is Nancy Pelosi, who had been notably silent in the immediate aftermath of the news. 

The new energy behind the presumptive Democratic nominee has been tangible in the last 24 hours, as the party has raised nearly 50 million dollars.
Many feel that the former senator and prosecutor is the perfect candidate to take on Donald Trump and the Republicans. 

Donald Trump and new running mate J.D Vance. 
Both men hit the campaign trail this Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
During the rally, Trump asked the crowd who they prefer he run against.
Kamala Harris was met with boos while then-incumbent Joe Biden was cheered by the crowd. The next day, Sunday, Biden withdrew from his re-election campaign. 

 

President Joe Biden has decided to bow out of the race and not seek re election this November. Biden made the surprise announcement yesterday and quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his favorite to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket. I'll get to Kamala Harris in a moment, but I'd be remiss and neglecting to acknowledge Biden's decision to not seek a second term, bringing into one of the longest political careers in American history. Let me say this, he deserves credit for bowing out. Personally, I think it took too long. I think he should have been out weeks ago. I think in the immediate aftermath of that debate on June twenty seventh, he should have bowed out. I think that there are people within his camp that clearly knew people administry, people that work formed people amongst his family members. You all knew that there was slippage, and to put him out there in the position that they did, getting him exposed not just to the national but the international community and the manner that he was was egregious. We sit here today and you see a whole bunch of folks all over the airwaves praising him, bringing up his patriotism, his commitment to this country, his years of service, how he put country first, et cetera, et cetera, And none of that.

Is to be summarily dismissed.

I certainly respected, and I want everybody to know that. But I said it before and I'll say it again. To walk around acting like folks were insulting him, no, we went by what we saw, whether he was talking, whether he was walking. When he showed up to the debates and looked as bad as he looked, that's when we saw it.

Folks close to him, you've been saw it, you knew it, and you try to slide that.

Through the American people, and then it ultimately got exposed. And now here you want to come with this song and dance about his patriotism and what have you. Yes, it's not a song and dance where he's concerned. But we don't want to hear from y'all. We are seeing pundits, damn near in tears talking about what a great great man he is and how difficult this was.

Wait a minute, he.

Was in the center for thirty six years. He was the vice president, for eight years. He was the president for four years, three and a half years to be exact, obviously planning to finish out his turn.

Which he deserves to do.

By the way, that would make forty eight years of service. There is no crime, There is nothing to feel bad about telling somebody, hey, it's time. And Van Jones was on CNN, for example, a person that I have profound a respect for calling it ten amount to taking the keys away from your grandpa. Well, guess what, you don't cry when you have to do so.

You're okay with.

The decision because you know it's for grandpa's betterment, because you're trying to save their life. And this was the situation in a roundabout way when it comes to President Joe Biden, you're not what you used to be. None of us are what we were when we were younger.

It happens.

It happens, and it's not about ages or because Nancy Pelosi is three years older than him.

And she's sharp as attack.

James Cliburn out of South Carolina, I believe it's around his age, if not a little older. He's sharp as well, along with various others. There's no shame, So let's get that out the way, and let's start walking around like such a tragedy has been done to President Biden.

President Biden is not what he used to be.

It doesn't mean that he can't finish out his term and remain president for the next five or six months. It means we don't need to be looking at him for four more years. He has people that he's allocated responsibilities too. They do their job, they bring stuff to his attention, and he doesn't need to be on a campaign trail. It doesn't need to be showing up to debates and having to really articulate and elocute himself in a way that's indicative of somebody who's young and significantly more vibrant.

No, he doesn't need to do that.

But he can remain in office for the next six months, and then afterwards he walks away with liberals and Democrats all over the place lording and praising the job that he did, and you move on. This is not about his ego, This is not about his feelings. This is about the American people, this nation, and what we need to ensure that we'll give four more years of something similar and akin to him as opposed to something similar.

Or directly, that is Donald Trump.

That's what it's supposed to be, and you want to give yourself the best chance, which brings me to my next subject, because that's Vice President Harris, the resumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. As news spread of Joe Biden's decision not to seek reelection, high profile Democrats were quit to endorse Harris as their favorite candidate to replace him. Some of those names include Bill and Hillary Clinton, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, and aoc herself aka New York Congresswoman Alexandria Accassio Cortez, who is once critical of both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The latest addition to the list of is Nancy Pelosi, who'd been notably silent in the immediate aftermath of the news. The new energy behind the presumptive Democratic nominee has been tangible the last twenty four hours, as the party has raised over fifty million dollars. According the numerous reports, Many field, the former senator and prosecutor, is the perfect candidate to take on Donald Trump and the Republicans.

Let me stop you right there. That ain't true.

She's not the perfect candidate to go up against Donald Trump. Whether it's true or not true. I'm only talking perception. But the perception is when she was attorney general, when she was a district attorney in San Francisco, attorney general in the state of California, there were black men incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. Sentences were stretched, et cetera, et cetera. This is what they will be said about her, obviously, even though she was never the czar, the border czar. That's how the Republican side, the conservative side is going to paint her when it comes to the issue of ten and a half million illegal immigrants crossing our borders since Biden took.

Office in twenty twenty one. This is what they're gonna say.

And so when we understand that, and that's the reality, she is not the quote unquote perfect candidate. But you know what she is at this moment in time, the best of Themmocratic Party's got. She's certainly better than Joe Biden. I don't believe she'd be better than Michelle Obama, but that ain't an option, and.

So that makes her the best we've got. And when you consider.

Her prosecutor's background, when you consider her intellect, when you consider how feisty she can be, when you consider how she could pick Donald Trump apart in terms of the lies that he may tell. And she's younger by over twenty one twenty two years to Joe Biden, and she's been aching for this opportunity and she's considered an individual that's been muzzled.

I'd say that makes a pretty damn good candidate.

Here's the thing that I won't hold against Kamala Harris her performance when she was running for the presidency in twenty twenty and she couldn't even make it.

To two months.

She had to sense suspend her campaign because it was she wasn't gaining any traction.

I'm not holding that against her.

But it's not just because it was four years ago.

You know why I'm also not doing that.

I'm not doing that because it's one thing to go against your contemporaries within the same party trying to prove you're the more viable candidate than the rest of your teammates, and it's another thing entirely to go against the enemy, and the enemy in her eyes would be Donald Trump. So her going up against Joe Biden and others, it's nothing compared to her going up against Donald Trump. That means you're gonna have the left on your side, because they certainly ain't gonna vote for Donald Trump.

It's about getting people to the polls.

And it's about getting independents, particularly women, to side with you.

Roe v.

Wade and how Donald Trump bragged about playing a role in that being overturned, that's something that's right in her wheelhouse. Those two impeach, those civil suits, the thirty four.

Felony counts, that's in her wheelhouse.

Being able to deduce when he's telling the truth and when he's lying and picking them apart on the spot.

She has that capability. Will she do it? I know she'll need to.

So again, that's gonna make her the best candidate for the job at this particular moment in time. It ain't about who she's going against amongst the Democrats. No, if she's the Democratic nominee, she only got one opponent, and that's Donald Trump, the GOP nominee.

I'm not telling you she's gonna win.

I'm telling you she was a better option than Joe Biden, and at this moment in time, she's the best option the Democratic Party has. Now let me get to the Republicans, because I got to admit, I'm not talking about the Republican Party. I'm just talking about what's going on right now in terms of what Donald Trump do. These folks are getting on my nerves to get to Donald Trump and new running mate jd Vance.

Both men hit the camp. They hit the campaign trail this.

Week this weekend Saturday to be exacting Grand Rapids Michigan. During the rally, Trump asked the crowd who they prefer he run against. Kamala Harris was met with bulls while then incumbing. Joe Biden was cheered by the crowd. The next day Sunday, that is, Joe Biden withdrew from his reelection campaign because basically donors on the Democratic side, the funds were drawing up, they.

Were seeing to it.

They were letting them know, we ain't gona support the party if you're gonna continue to run, because we know you can't.

Beat them, because the slippage that you've shown is not good enough.

So we got to put it in the hand to somebody younger, more vibrant, more ready to go. And we're not engaging in agism here. We ain't talking of our folks based on their age. We're talking about Joe Biden. Our repeat. We know of other folks in their eighties that are sharper than he appears, but.

We wish him the best.

We're not insulting our president acknowledging fact. Here's another fact, Donald Trump and JD. Van to run it scared and Mike Johnson speak of the House, he's running scared too.

What's up with all of this stuff about how legal.

Action may be taken because Biden decided to drop out of the race.

Wait a minute.

When he took the presidency, initially he alluded to himself being a one term president, that he was going to be a stop gap to pave the way for a younger generation. He's under no obligation to run for reelection. And the donors who contributed to the Democratic Party it was to Biden and Harris, not just Biden.

So what's the problem with her running? Now? That's number two? Number three?

Donald Trump? I know, I know you ain't trying to engage and dare I say law fair.

Are you? I know you're not trying to do that.

Wasn't it you that was on stage saying that the Democrats were engaging in law fare because they weren't confident they could beat you straight up in an election. Kamala Harris ain't bringing up insurrection. She ain't bringing up the votes in Georgia. She might bring it up to make an argument against you from a characters standpoint, she might bring up the thirty four fellow.

In the convictions. But her objective and what.

She tweeted out, she's saying, Yo, Donald Trump, I'm gonna beat you.

I can beat you.

Ain't that what you wanted? You said, that's what you wanted. Now here's Donald Trump with this statement.

Here, check this out.

So we are forced to spend time and money on fighting crook at Joe Biden. He polls badly after having a terrible debate and quits the race.

Now we have to start all over again.

Shouldn't the Republican Party being reiversed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors in the fake news media, knew he was not capable of running for or being president, just asking well, listen to the end answer from your boy, stephen A. Anybody trying to hear that you've been talking about Kamala Harris like you would rake her through the colds, like you would beat her. Suddenly, we're not talking about these lawsuits against you, civil or criminal. What we're talking about now is her going up against you one on one for the presidency of the United States. I thought this was what you wanted. So I don't want to hear from jd Vance. I don't want to hear from Mike Johnson. I don't want to hear from a conservative pundits. I don't want to hear about the legal stuff. Now, this is what you wanted. This is what we all should want. I want to see Kamala Harris go up against Donald Trump. I want to see her ideas for the country versus his ideas for the country. I want to see her talking about her record against him talking about his record. I want to see you're going to owe the toe against one another. That's what we want to see. That's what we want to see. This is what you said you wanted. So when you bring up potential lawsuits, that's law fair. That's deviating from what you said. The Democrats were doing just because they could have beat you fair and square. If you want to bring up law fair, is it because you scared.

You're gonna lose to Kamala Harris. I'm just asking. I'm just asking. That's what you said. You just asking, I'm just asking.

Here's another quote from the real Donald Trump. The Democrats pick a candidate crooked Joe Biden. He loses the debate badly.

Then panics and makes mistake after mistake.

It's told he can't win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris. They stole a race from Biden after he wanted in the primaries of first These people are the real.

Threat to democracy.

Okay, Ain't not wrong with that, sweet you're tired of your feelings, you are tired to express your threat.

Just don't go to legal route.

Because by going that route, you're engaging in law fear. And according to you, that's what the Dems were doing because they couldn't beat you fair and square in an election. You might be right, or then again you might not. Let's find out. Let's find out straight up. You against her gets a little scared.

Now, I'm just asking. I'm just asking.

I don't know but bringing up all of this legal stuff with Mike Jackson and Mike Johnson rather and JD. Vance, it sounds scared y'all. Sound scared what y'all doing to being scared of Kamlin Harris for.

What's up with that? Scared of the scared of the ladies. Now you're scared of the vice president. Huh hm. That's why the crowd was cheering for Joe Biden. You know there was some slippage. He was an easy opponent. You confirm it. It's got a little bit of tougher now, haven't you just ask just ask him