President Joe Biden’s July 21 decision to withdraw from re-election while endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead has turned the 2024 presidential race upside down.
The Spokesman caught up with a cross-section of Morgan students for their views on Biden’s decision and Harris’ candidacy.
The panel includes Anaya Cullum, a senior political science major and registered Democrat from New York; Arielle Ellis, a May 2024 graduate and registered Democrat from Prince George’s County; Isatou Sall, a freshman nursing major from Maryland but is not registered to vote; Amun Kamafrika, a senior applied liberal arts major and registered Independent from Baltimore; Victoria Jenkins, who graduated in May, like Ellis, and is a registered Democrat from Virginia; Malaya Mason, a sophomore political science major and registered Democrat from Baltimore.
The following is a transcript edited for length.
Spokesman: How do you feel about President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election?
Cullum: I have mixed emotions about it because truly, I don’t feel like he was the best candidate but I feel like he was a better option [for presidency ] over (former president and Republican nominee) Donald Trump. [Biden’s] health and the way he was operating wasn’t the best and you can see that he was losing his memory and falling everywhere. When it comes to him being the president, I do not think he would have lasted long if he had got elected…so dropping was the best thing he could do.
Ellis: When Biden was running it was a decision where you ‘choose the best of the lesser evils’ and he was better than a racist. When I heard that he was pulling out I was surprised, because he was our hope. [However,] I am happy he endorsed Harris.
Mason: I think it was a smart decision, but wrong timing. He’s giving Kamala four months to campaign and I think that was a selfish move.
Spokesman: What are your thoughts on Vice President Kamala Harris becoming a Democratic candidate for presidency?
Kamafrika: She has the qualifications but she hasn’t done anything as a vice president that shows me how good she would be as a president. [also] she is a raging zionist. If she does get elected, all the funding that we would get for infrastructure and education would go directly to Israel. There should be no reason why American students don’t have free tuition or health care. We don’t want to vote for Trump because of Project 2025 and everything he stands for, so do we “choose the lesser evil or do we choose a completely new candidate who we don’t know much about?”
Sall: I don’t think we are ready for a woman president. [Kamala] is not ready to go up against Trump. However I do think Biden did the right thing by endorsing her.
Mason: I’m nervous because of how they reacted to Hillary Clinton, a white woman who didn’t get in office. I don’t think [America] is going to vote a Black woman in office, however with her getting $81 million in donations in 1 day, it shows that America is ready to rally around her.
Spokesman: Do you think Harris is well-prepared to become the next president? Why or why not?
Cullum: I was never the biggest Kamala fan but when it comes to the world and the state we are in politically, it would be a good opportunity to have her as our president.
Jenkins: She’s ready. She articulates herself well, and sounds like she has big plans for the future of America.
Mason: I think she is qualified, more qualified over Biden and Trump but her identity works against her. Her history as a prosecutor plays a major role. She did a good job and proved herself capable enough to make valued decisions and work well under pressure.
Spokesman: How do you feel about the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president of the United States?
Cullum: I think it would be great. If everybody comes together and vote she would have a good chance [at winning the election].
Ellis: I think she will do a good job if elected president. We need change and she can be the start of that.
Kamafrika: It would be a good opportunity for her and women across the world to have a role model like her as president. But she hasn’t shown us anything that makes us believe she is best fit for this position.
Spokesman: How do you think the change in presidential candidates might affect the Democratic Party’s chances in the next election?
Ellis: Not everyone is ready to have a Black woman as president. [Harris] running is going to affect the democratic party negatively but hopefully she overcomes these challenges and become the next president.
Mason: The democratic party today doesn’t stand for anything. We [Democrats] are becoming complacent and this election is a test to solidify whether people are continuing to have hope in the Democratic party or not. From what I am seeing, there’s not enough difference between the two parties. If Kamala doesn’t win, people are going to lose all hope.
Jenkins: I think it’s going to be a tough race. Trump has a lot of people rolling around him after the shooting that happened and the Democratic party has to rally together to defeat him.
Spokesman: What issues are most important to you in the upcoming election, and how do you think Harris has addressed those issues compared to Biden or Trump?
Kamafrika: I have not heard anything from her about climate change, student loan payments or health care. We still have immigration issues, abortion bans, issues affecting women and the LGBTQIA+ community but still she said nothing.
Jenkins: My main concern is abortion rights and women’s power to choose. Project 2025 is the biggest issue for everyone. Kamala is firm, she does not support the banning of abortion but I still need to hear more from her.
Mason: The issues most important to me is abortion and contraceptive access. The genocide happening around the world needs to be addressed. [America] has the power to stop the genocide but because Isreal is our alley we choose not to. Domestic policy and police brutality also needs more attention and if Kamala addresses these situations well, then she will have the vote of many.
