After Harris’ Loss, Angry Democrats Blame Her Boss, Biden

A hand fan depicting US Vice President Kamala Harris lays on a sidewalk in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A hand fan depicting US Vice President Kamala Harris lays on a sidewalk in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
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After Harris’ Loss, Angry Democrats Blame Her Boss, Biden

A hand fan depicting US Vice President Kamala Harris lays on a sidewalk in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A hand fan depicting US Vice President Kamala Harris lays on a sidewalk in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

Anger and soul-searching took hold of the Democratic Party early on Wednesday morning, after Vice President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that left some party officials and voters dumbfounded.

Harris was the self-styled underdog against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, having joined the race barely three months ago, but the nature of her loss has some Democrats asking questions about the future of the party.

The sharpest criticism contained accusations that the party had lied to its supporters about President Joe Biden's mental fitness until a disastrous TV debate with Trump in June raised alarm bells and ultimately led to the president exiting the race.

One Democratic donor asked: "Why did Joe Biden hold on for as long as he did? He should have not concealed his (health) and dropped out a lot sooner."

Biden, 81, has said privately he thought he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump, and vowed publicly that he was fit to be president for another four years. When he dropped out of the race in July, he said he had decided it was "in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down."

Biden's announcement in April 2023 that he would run for reelection was greeted with skepticism by many Democrats, but likely potential challengers quickly agreed to join his campaign as advisers, rather than challenge him.

The party "needs a complete reboot," said hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic donor who endorsed Trump in 2024, on X. "The party lied to the American people about the cognitive health and fitness of the president," he said, and then didn't hold a primary to replace him.

The Harris campaign declined comment and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WOMEN AND YOUNG VOTERS

The concerns ran deeper, though.

Two groups Harris was counting on to beat Trump -- increasingly diverse young voters, believed to be motivated by climate change, liberal values and her social media savvy, and women worried about shrinking abortion rights under a Republican -- moved in his direction instead.

Trump's overall share of voters under 45 was up two percentage points from 2020 as was his share of women voters, Edison Research exit poll data show. Trump also increased his support in many suburban areas, where Democrats thought they had made inroads.

The shift came even as the Harris campaign insisted that the race was close, and that she was picking up new voters.

One Democratic National Committee official said he was fielding angry text messages from party members late on Tuesday night. "They feel lied to by the campaign," the official said.

Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric also appeared to strike a chord with voters even in Democratic heartlands like Connecticut and Massachusetts, mirroring a trend seen in many liberal democracies where high housing and other costs have been blamed on newcomers.

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, cut immigration levels under criticism from the right, and Europe's far-right parties have vowed to toughen immigration rules, while peeling away votes from the center left.

Harris' defeat is the Democrats' second bitter loss to Trump over the past three elections. Hillary Clinton's 2016 defeat had paved the way for Biden to run.

A convicted felon, Trump's unorthodox economic proposals, including blanket tariffs on imports, will be costly for US consumers and businesses, economists say. His plans to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally would upend industries and communities.

Still Trump gained with Latino voters, and had easy wins in Georgia and North Carolina, states where Democrats thought they were competitive. Harris' whirlwind campaign, built around an inclusive vision of the United States and stronger fiscal support for families, had emphasized hope and positivity.

Biden and Harris' support of Israel during its assault on Gaza split the Democratic Party, with many progressive Democrats calling unsuccessfully for the US to curb its military aid to Israel. That cost votes among left-leaning Democrats.

Harris remained at her residence in Washington the entire evening while crowds waited outside her alma mater Howard University, where the campaign had set up a stage and a media center, anticipating days of vote-counting before a result.

As the results started to trickle in, her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond took the stage to tell the dwindling crowds the race wasn't over yet. Hours later, it was.



China Will Work with US, Government Says, but More Rivalry Expected under Trump

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, during a press conference on the US elections, in Beijing, China, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, during a press conference on the US elections, in Beijing, China, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
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China Will Work with US, Government Says, but More Rivalry Expected under Trump

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, during a press conference on the US elections, in Beijing, China, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, during a press conference on the US elections, in Beijing, China, 06 November 2024. (EPA)

China will work with the US on the basis of mutual respect, it said on Wednesday as Donald Trump closed in on victory in the presidential election, but strategists said Beijing was bracing for bitter superpower rivalry over trade, technology and security issues.

"Our policy towards the US is consistent," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press conference in Beijing, when asked how Trump returning to the Oval Office would affect US-China relations.

"We will continue to view and handle China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation," she added.

Chinese strategists however said they expected more fiery rhetoric and potentially crippling tariffs from Trump, although some said his isolationist foreign policy could give Beijing a vacuum to expand its global influence.

"Beijing anticipated a close race in the US election. Although Trump's victory is not China's preferred outcome and raises concerns, it is not entirely unexpected," said Tong Zhao, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"The Chinese leadership will likely strive to maintain an appearance of a cordial personal relationship with Trump, while intensifying efforts to project China's power and strength."

Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said Trump's victory "may pose a relatively large challenge to Sino-US relations" based on his campaign policy proposals and actions in his previous term.

"Due to Trump's high unpredictability, I think it is difficult for China to say that there is a fully formed plan to do "x" when Trump comes to power. It also depends on what policies the Trump administration implements."

TRUMP TARIFF THREAT

Trump has proposed tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% and ending China’s most-favored-nation trading status, and analysts say the prospect of a trade war has rattled China's leadership.

China sells goods worth more than $400 billion annually to the US and hundreds of billions more in components for products Americans buy from elsewhere.

"Beijing is particularly wary of a potential revival of the trade war under Trump, especially as China currently faces significant internal economic challenges," said Zhao.

"China also expects Trump to accelerate the decoupling of technologies and supply chains, a move that could threaten China's economic growth and indirectly impact its social and political stability."

In response, China is likely to intensify its push for greater technological and economic self-sufficiency, while feeling more pressure to bolster economic ties with countries like Russia, he added.

"Going forward, Beijing would likely be drawing up a list of clear bargains and interest tradeoffs that it could float with Washington, in hope that it can focus on its much-needed domestic economic concerns whilst Trump's attention is occupied elsewhere," said Brian Wong, assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong who studies grand strategy.

GLOBAL POWER VACUUM

China is likely to shore up ties with the Global South, Europe and Northeast Asian countries in the event of a Trump win, given his "transactional, isolationist, anti-globalist and anti-multilateral foreign policy", said Wong.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached a rare rapprochement last month, while Beijing has tentatively reached out to the new Japanese administration this autumn following years of strained relations.

"China expects the second Trump administration to further disengage from international agreements and commitments, creating opportunities for China to expand its influence in emerging power vacuums," Zhao added.

Trump has unnerved democratically governed Taiwan by saying it should pay Washington for its defense and that it had taken US semiconductor business.

"The Biden administration applied high-pressure tactics to China on Taiwan, with US troops stationed in Taiwan and even giving weapons to Taiwan ... in a huge break with the former Trump administration's Taiwan policy," said Shen Dingli, an international relations scholar in Shanghai. Washington last month approved a US$2 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

"Trump is not too likely to give Taiwan the same support in future."