Few times in history have monumental events changed so rapidly as the decision by President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential race. In the span of a single day, millions of voters in Georgia and across the country went from despair to enthusiastic jubilation.
Let me first say that Biden’s decision to pass the torch to a new generation of leadership has cemented his legacy as one of the most consequential presidents in the life of our nation.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Here are just a few of the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration:
· Heroically led us out of the worst pandemic in American history and built the strongest economy in the world;
· Lowest ongoing unemployment rate since 1960; in fact, more people are working today than at any point in American history;
· Nearly 16 million new jobs;
· Lowered the cost of insulin to $35 per month for our seniors;
· Delivered the most aggressive climate and environmental justice agenda in history;
· More people now have health insurance than ever before; and
· Rallied the world to support Ukraine in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and strengthened our alliances and partnerships around the globe.
I’ve known Vice President Kamala Harris for more than 20 years now.
In the fall of 2003, Ambassador Andrew Young and Gene Duffy organized an intimate event to introduce a small group of Atlantans to a young assistant district attorney who was running to be the next district attorney of San Francisco.
It was early then, but that evening you could see the promise that culminated at the Georgia State University arena last week as that same woman emerged as the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States. From that evening on, and every campaign since, the group of people who were there that night have supported Harris, and I am honored to be one of them.
Her biography and resume rivals anyone who has ever run for president: a courtroom prosecutor, district attorney for a major city, attorney general and U.S. senator from the largest state in the country, and vice president of the United States for four years. Anyone who attacks her qualifications to be president demonstrates only their own lack of seriousness.
Our vice president has devoted her career to fighting for the people, protecting our freedoms, delivering justice and expanding opportunity so that every American cannot just get by but get ahead.
Her impressive communication and skills as a candidate have been showcased in the past two weeks, and Americans are responding to her message: freedom and rebuilding the middle class.
Harris’ sudden candidacy has awakened something that was dormant within much of the American people.
Voters across the board are responding, again, to hope and optimism, rather than the dark and ominous vision of the MAGA movement and former President Donald Trump. The weirdness of Trump, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and their representatives was always there, but the juxtaposition of Harris’ optimistic vision and energy has clearly exposed the other side.
Most newly released polls show Harris now tied or leading Trump nationally and in key battleground states.
So, am I surprised by how quickly Harris has changed the race and energized the public? Certainly not.
Do I believe she can maintain the momentum she has built through Election Day? I certainly do.
Harris announced that she raised a staggering $310 million in just two weeks last month. That’s more than twice the amount the Trump campaign raised.
This outpouring of support in such a short time shows that the Harris campaign is mobilized and growing. Most of the funds are from small donors and first-time contributors. She is clearly on a path to maintain this historic fundraising pace.
Her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice president will give her campaign another boost in the polls, and voters will reward her for selecting a running mate who will be ready on Day One.
Unlike Vance, you can be assured that Walz will make the Democratic Party far more competitive in Midwestern states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The Democratic National Convention is set to begin Aug. 19. The timing is a major advantage for the Harris campaign. Historically, a presidential campaign generates major momentum and a bump in the polls after the nominating convention. The candidate and campaign are given national exposure for an entire week as the nominee delivers her messages and vision to the American people. This momentum should carry the Harris campaign through Labor Day.
The contrasting message and vision of Harris and Trump could not be more different. The Harris message of freedom and the future versus the Trump message of retribution and grievance. The American people will choose an optimistic and aspirational vision every day over a bleak and destructive vision rooted in chaos.
Finally, I believe character and integrity still matter in America.
As a prosecutor and attorney general, Harris took on predators who abused women, and she specialized in child sexual abuse cases; fraudsters who ripped of consumers; and cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. And she held the big Wall Street banks accountable for fraud.
On the other hand, Trump has a record of sociopathic lying that makes him unfit to be president of the United States. He has been found liable for committing sexual abuse. He ran a for-profit college that scammed students, and he was found guilty on 34 federal counts of fraud.
The American people ultimately want a president they can look up to and be proud of. They want a president who appeals to what is best about us. They want a president who will protect and restore their freedoms. And they want a president who is focused on the future, not the past.
For these reasons and many more, Kamala Harris will be our 47th president of the United States.
Kasim Reed was the mayor of Atlanta from 2010 to 2018. He is a partner at McDermott Will & Emery.
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