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00:00Let's get more on the Democratic reaction. Let's cross over to speak to Christian Hanley,
00:05a consultant to Democratic candidates and analysts. It's great to have you on the
00:10program, Christian. Tell us about Kamala Harris. Our international affairs editor,
00:17Ketavan Ghorjasani, just mentioned that quite a few people are joining Biden and getting behind her.
00:24How do other Democrats feel about her?
00:26Well, I think there are some concerns about her popularity, her name ID,
00:30and some of the key swing states. That was sort of the concern going back a couple of weeks now.
00:35But going back even farther in this conversation, thinking about what Fraser had just said,
00:40I mean, that analysis was spot on. The Trump campaign really right now is putting on a brave
00:44face, but I think they are quite scared. Kamala Harris is, as he already said, a prosecutor from
00:51California who, excuse me, in the previous election, in her own primary race, that counted
00:57against her for a lot of progressives, that history of being a prosecutor. But in this instance now,
01:02she is the ideal person to be prosecuting this case against Donald Trump, who, let's not forget,
01:07he was the former president who stacked the Supreme Court and pushed it to the hard right,
01:12who was responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court precedent that made
01:17abortion access legal across the country. And she's the one who's going to be able to carry
01:22that case against Donald Trump, who right now can no longer have this same tired narrative about his
01:28opponent being old and feeble and not having their wits about them. I mean, Donald Trump,
01:33let's not forget, too, is showing signs of serious cognitive decline. And that's
01:38not just my own personal opinion. We can actually check tape and check—this is someone who in New
01:43York City has a track record in the media going back at least to the 80s, if not the 70s,
01:48and we can see just how much he really has fallen in terms of his own abilities.
01:52And so to have someone who is half his age, who is brilliant, who's a lawyer and former prosecutor,
01:58taking the case to the American people against Donald Trump, I think really is going to have
02:01that campaign on its heels. And can you lay out for us what the next few days will look
02:06like now for the Democrats? I mean, frankly, I'm not sure anybody can completely do that.
02:11This really is something that is brand new. This has not happened in my lifetime, certainly.
02:16And so, I mean, some of the logistical matters that are going to have to happen is that
02:22Democratic Party delegates, those who are, whether superdelegates or delegates who were elected from
02:27the 50 states to represent their constituents at the convention, are going to have to come
02:32together and officially nominate Kamala Harris or somebody else as the next nominee. But don't
02:37forget, these are all individuals who won their respective elections in their respective states
02:42supporting Joe Biden. And so Joe Biden now has thrown his support behind Kamala Harris, and so
02:47likely they will do the same. One thing that has come up many times in American media
02:52covering this is just the legal logistics, if you will. Kamala Harris is already on
02:57Joe Biden's ticket. Now that Joe Biden is stepping aside, she will leave that ticket.
03:01That means that that campaign infrastructure, the staffers in place on the ground, most
03:06importantly the campaign funds, those accounts, will be under her now. No other candidate or
03:12would-be candidate can just simply jump in the race and take care of building that sort of
03:18infrastructure overnight the way that she effectively can now that Joe Biden is stepping
03:22aside. So she is by far, from just a simple logistical standpoint, a shoe-in for this position.
03:28And the question now is going to be, one, making that position official as the head of the ticket,
03:34and then to also find a good, a strong vice president for the ticket who can help carry
03:41the day in those key swing states. Christian Handley, a consultant to Democratic
03:45candidates and an analyst. Thank you so much for your insights and joining us on the program.
03:52Thank you for having me.