Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, White House correspondent Mike Memoli previews President Joe Biden’s speech explaining his decision to abandon his re-election bid. Plus, we dive into Vice President Kamala Harris’ truncated running mate selection process, which chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes can give her an opportunity to define herself.
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Biden embarks on a new project: Shaping his legacy
By Mike Memoli
For more than three at-times excruciating weeks, President Joe Biden and his team were locked in a campaign to save his candidacy. With his prime-time address to the nation Wednesday night, a new effort is underway: to shape his legacy.
A group of Biden’s closest advisers is already at work to plot out what that will look like. The discussion includes domestic priorities he could advance in coming budget negotiations with Congress or through executive action, diplomatic initiatives he could see through with a freer hand and accomplishing what he has described as the most elusive of the three goals he outlined in his 2020 campaign — unifying the country.
NBC News spoke to a half-dozen White House and campaign officials about what Biden is planning, and advisers said they recognize that the biggest factor shaping how he is viewed in history will be whether Vice President Kamala Harris is successful in her bid to succeed him.
“Everything is being viewed through that lens,” a White House official said.
In the earliest stages of this new phase, Harris campaign and Biden administration officials describe a thus far seamless approach to advancing both of their goals at once. There has been no explicit directive to Biden aides to run major decisions by Harris’ team for approval — but they have been collaborating nonetheless to make sure to row in the same direction.
A source close to Biden said he will also reprise another message he offered after he declined to run in 2016: While he will not be a candidate, he is not going to stop engaging in the public debate.
Wednesday’s speech will be just the first in a series of farewell messages Biden will have a chance to deliver, including next month at a Democratic National Convention being retooled to focus on Harris and her eventual running mate.
Read more from Mike ahead of Biden’s speech at 8 p.m. ET →
Harris faces a compressed running mate search
Harris is only on her fourth day as a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate. But she may need to compress her entire running mate selection process into two weeks to comply with an Aug. 7 deadline Democrats have set for themselves to finalize their ticket, Alex Seitz-Wald and Ben Kamisar report.
That deadline could push Harris to vet, meet with, select and announce her running mate in the next 14 days — or potentially risk losing her spot on the ballot in Ohio.
Yamiche Alcindor and Jonathan Allen report that Harris is winnowing her list quickly — in part because of the compressed timeline and in part because several potential candidates, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, have taken themselves out of the running.
The contenders: In interviews with more than a half-dozen Democratic insiders, the names of a handful of hopefuls have emerged as leading contenders: Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are also in the mix, these people said.
All of them are white men, though one source said a name that has been floated is Cedric Richmond, a Black man who is a senior Biden adviser and former congressman from Louisiana.
“That’s something that will take some speed-dating,” said Michael LaRosa, the former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden. “There’s a lot to consider. You have electoral calculus. You have personal chemistry. You have someone who really matches your ideology.”
Kelly: While Senate Democrats are heaping praise on Kelly as a potential running mate for Harris, Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V report that some are nervous about the idea of him leaving the Senate, fearing a Republican could win a special election in Arizona to finish his current term, which expires in 2028.
Beshear: He stands out on the list as a resident of a solidly red state. But as Matt Dixon and Katherine Doyle note, Beshear won re-election last year in a state Donald Trump won by more than 20 points in 2020. He also won by 22 points in the eastern Kentucky county that JD Vance referred to in his Republican National Convention speech, a county Trump claimed by 52 points in 2020.
In a region where Democrats are still fighting for votes, Beshear is seen as someone with a bipartisan reputation and blue-collar bona fides who can serve as a counterbalance to Vance.
How Harris can use her VP search to define herself
By Chuck Todd
If done right, a methodical yet efficient veepstakes could help reintroduce Harris to the country and allow voters — particularly those who start in the skeptical middle — a chance to take a measure of her. Many voters will look at whom she surrounds herself with and whom she wants to associate herself with as ways to see how she’d govern. She’s being handed a gift in some ways with this opportunity to name a running mate. And she needs to use this time to introduce herself on her own terms.
Harris’ challenge isn’t a new issue for sitting vice presidents. Even with months to prepare, vice presidents have always struggled with the burden of being famous without being known. Folks know her name, know her position and perhaps have a singular semi-uninformed hot take (positive or negative) on her — and that’s it. She has to fill in the blanks before the Trump campaign and the GOP fills them in for her. It’s a race to define her.
And that’s why the veepstakes shouldn’t be rushed. This is an opportunity for Americans to get a glimpse of the type of Democrats she wants to run the country. This isn’t just about picking a running mate. This is about setting a tone for the type of politics she intends to practice — how ideology and practicality will weigh against each other, which issues will display her pragmatism and which issues will prompt a fight until the bitter end. Harris can tease out all of these things through a strategic use of the veepstakes process.
With the Olympics starting Friday, there will be a mini-lull in the public’s focus on politics for two weeks. It’s a perfect time for Harris to stage her own contest — a political pentathlon — for a running mate. She doesn’t need to go full “Apprentice,” à la Trump, but she also shouldn’t shy away from media coverage of various candidates.
She can interview candidates whom she may never intend to pick, but she might end up interviewing a future Cabinet secretary or chief of staff. And she can use the veepstakes to throw some bones to various constituencies.
🗞️ Today’s top stories
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🎤 Netanyahu in D.C.: During a speech to Congress,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack to Pearl Harbor and criticized protestors who were marching outside the Capitol. Read more →
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📢 ‘DEI’ attacks: Republicans are launching gender- and race-based attacks against Harris, with some calling her a “DEI” candidate. Still, some Democrats are cautiously optimistic Harris can become the first female president. Read more →
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🛑 Notable holdout: Democrats from across the political spectrum have lined up behind Harris. But Bernie Sanders isn’t quite ready to join them yet. Read more →
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⚫ Shooting fallout: FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the gunman who tried to assassinate Trump searched “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” on Google earlier this month. Read more →
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➡️ Heading inside: Trump plans to stop holding outdoor rallies like the one where he was shot this month. Read more →
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🌎 Heating up: Monday was the world’s hottest day ever recorded, breaking Sunday’s short-lived record. Read more →
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Follow along with the latest 2024 election developments on our live blog →
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
