On July 21, President Biden stepped down as the Democrat Party’s candidate for the next term’s American President, endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris to fill his shoes. Craig Young asks what President Harris would mean for rainbow communities and the US in general.
The Biden administration has been a praiseworthy defender of LGBTQ+ rights since it first took office in 2021. It acted to prevent anti-LGBTQI+ housing discrimination, extended government support for trans military veterans, outlawed credit discrimination against LGBTQ+ financial services clients, appointed Dr Rachel Levine (a trans woman) as Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Social Services, has supported the International Transgender Day of Visibility, reversed an anti-transgender military service ban, moved to protect LGBTQ+ students from educational discrimination, supported transgender prisoners rights to just and fair incarceration, insured LGBTQ+ inclusion in Obamacare programmes, expanded citizenship rights to the children of US same-sex couples born outside the United States, intervened when discriminatory Republican state governments introduced bans against trans adolescent sports participation and healthcare access, introduced non-binary gender markers on passports, supported the entrenchment of marriage equality in the United States, declared monkeypox a public health emergency, and numerous other statements of support and appointments of LGBTQ+ individuals to senior public service positions.
Therefore, US LGBTQ+ communities have much to be grateful for. President Biden is stepping down due to concerns about his age and whether that would impair his performance against the threat of a second Trump presidency. Senior Democrat Party figures are endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. If she is nominated and wins the presidential race, Ms Harris will be the second person of colour and first woman to do so (although former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton ran against Donald Trump in 2016, and was the first woman to win the nomination of a major US political party).
Ms Harris (59) has been California’s state attorney general, US Senator for California, and since 2020, US Vice President. She has the advantage of a strong law and order background as California state attorney general and has emphasised the importance of meaningful rehabilitation programmes to avoid young criminal recidivism, reduced school truancy in her state markedly, and pursued banks to prevent aggressive housing foreclosures and enforced homelessness. She also has a strong environmental protection record.
Like President Biden, her record on LGBTQ+ issues has been excellent. She supported marriage equality as California state attorney general and was involved in insuring California was the first US state to repeal the anti-LGBTQ+ ‘provocation defence’.
This is an adept move by the Democrat Party. Biden’s retirement has effectively neutralised concerns about his age at 81, raised by his irregular performance at the first presidential candidates debate.
Couple a female presidential candidacy to the abortion rights cause and one could witness a breakthrough. For one thing, Trump’s Vice Presidential nominee, Ohio Senator J. D.Vance, is now dangerously exposed when it comes to his extremist positions on abortion rights – he’s on record as favouring a national abortion ban and opposes abortion even in the case of rape or incest. Could he now become a liability to his side, much as Sarah Palin was for John McCain’s Republican candidacy against Barack Obama?
With a younger Democratic presidential candidate too, Trump’s own age (78) and his own cognitive abilities could become the focus of debate. During the second presidential candidate debate, Trump will face a seasoned public prosecutor with a strong record on criminal justice issues. She could conceivably win that debate and change public perceptions.
What happens if Kamala Harris is elected as the 47th US President. At some point, Trump and his sycophants will have to acknowledge defeat and he will have to finally leave the presidential stage, leaving a power vacuum within the Republican Party. Moreover, many of his potential replacements are tainted by their support for his candidacy.
With four more years of Democrat presidency, there will be possible opportunities to reverse Trump era extremism over transgender rights, abortion rights and immigration, especially if Harris has the advantage of a Democrat-dominated Senate and/or House of Representatives. If a conservative US Supreme Court justice dies or retires, Harris may be able to rebalance the Supreme Court away from Trump era extremism.
As for Trump, a second defeat as US presidential candidate may mean he moves back into private life, renews his business activities, becomes involved with philanthropies or writes their memoirs, or returns to reality television hosting. And then? J.D.Vance for President in 2028? Crazier things have happened!
