A Washington Post columnist has written that she thinks President Joe Biden would allay worries about his age — he's 81 — if he dropped Vice President Kamala Harris from his ticket.
Her replacement, according to the Post? Hillary Clinton.
Kathleen Parker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, writes on politics and culture for The Washington Post, the New York Post noted. In a column earlier this month, she said Clinton, the 76-year-old former secretary of state who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, would help address the “old-White-men dilemma.”
“No one has mentioned her as a possible running mate for Biden far as I know, but why not replace Harris with Clinton?” Parker wrote.
Parker noted that Biden, already the oldest president in U.S. history at 81, has grappled with a "steady decline the past few years." That means "his stumbles, his search for words, his occasional blank stare.”
At the same time, many critics have derided Harris as inexperienced and have slammed her performance on issues including immigration. That could deter voters concerned about her being a heartbeat away from the presidency should Biden continue to decline or otherwise need to step away from office.
Clinton, though a controversial figure, has experience as first lady, a senator and Secretary of State. Having her on the Biden ticket instead of Harris would reassure voters that should the need arise, she could step in for Biden during a second term, Parker said.
“At 76, she might want no part of it, but it’s hard to retire when you feel your job isn’t done,” the columnist wrote.