Biden passes torch, ‘duende’ to Kamala and the grassroots coalition of the New America

FILE – President Joe Biden, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. She’s already broken barriers, and now Harris could soon become the first Black woman to head a major party’s presidential ticket after President Joe Biden’s ended his reelection bid. The 59-year-old Harris was endorsed by Biden on Sunday, July 21, 2024, after he stepped aside amid widespread concerns about the viability of his candidacy. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Joe Biden, still isolated with COVID, on Monday spoke via speaker phone to his campaign staff to tell them the truth behind his big decision.

“I know it’s hard because you’ve poured your heart and soul into me,” Biden told the campaigners who won him the nomination and then the presidency in 2020. But it wasn’t to be in 2024. “I think we made the right decision,” the president said.

The decision to withdraw came Sunday when Biden released a letter on social media with the shocking and historical news.

Biden will speak further on the matter in a prime-time address from the Oval Office Wednesday night.

Monday was more informal, family-style. Just Joe on the speaker phone, a disembodied Biden speaking to a room in Wilmington, Delaware, where campaign manager Julia Chavez-Rodriguez stood at a podium for the cameras. Biden’s voice was all that was needed as the staff learned it was about to have a new leader, Kamala Harris.

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” the president said.

That was essentially the passing of the torch, the flame. Or maybe the passing of “duende”? That’s what Boston Globe columnist George Frazier, one of those who inspired the column form in me, might have called it.

Duende was Frazier term for that charismatic allure of a world class performer that makes you constantly want to watch his/her every move. For a politician to possess it is pure gold.

Biden had it throughout his long political and legislative career. And now, as he steps aside and allows Harris, his veep, to step forward, it was clear. When Harris was introduced to cheers and came to the podium in that room, she had it too—duende. And much more of it than anyone ever thought.

Harris addressed the people there, but was still aware of Biden’s presence. “We love Joe and Jill, we really do,” said Harris.

“It’s mutual,” said Biden cutting in via speaker phone, almost like the Asian Filipino meaning of “duende,” which I’ve known as a spirit in the house, that can be mischievous, but also  helpful and loving.

“I knew you were still there,” Harris said, looking up with a laugh. “You’re not going anywhere, Joe.”

“I’m watching you, kid. I love you,” Biden said.

“I love you too,” Harris said, as the crowd cheered and clapped.

That made it official. The torch had been passed.

The GOP response

Compare this kind of political rhetoric between a president and his No. 2 with the one we saw during the Trump administration on Jan. 6, the day that birthed the phrase, “Hang Mike Pence.”

Pence, incidentally, was one of the few Republicans to respond with any decency. “President Joe Biden made the right decision for our country and I thank him for putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own,” Pence wrote on X.

For the most part, Republicans’ are still longing to run against Biden. Some continue to “other” Harris by mispronouncing her name. It’s KAH-ma-la. Not kah-MAH-la.

Or they’ve just relied on racist rhetoric. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn) called her a “100 percent DEI hire,” a phrase intended to disparage “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” But Harris, who has distinguished herself as a local district attorney, a state attorney general, a US Senator and a US vice president, has the resume that would be the envy of any white male.

At one Trump rally this week, Ohio State Sen. George Lang said, “I’m afraid if we lose this one, it’s going to take a civil war to save the country.”

He later walked back his hate, but it’s clear the rhetoric of Republicans hasn’t changed since the assassination attempt on Trump.

A less racist, more subtle approach was used by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton on Tuesday, when during a TV interview he kept referring to Harris as a “San Francisco liberal.”

Correction. She’s really more of an Oakland liberal, but OK, she spent time as San Francisco district attorney. I’m in exile now, but I’ve been writing columns as “San Francisco liberal” for decades. One of my topics was District Attorney Kamala Harris. Was she hard on crime? She was political. I always chided her for not going after white attacks on Asian Americans back in the day.

I never spoke with Harris directly about it. But once at a fundraiser, our eyes met and we chose the diplomatic option.

We walked the other way.

Now she’s on the verge of history and the duende is palpable.

We all can’t stop watching her.

It’s Kamala’s duende express.

Since the announcement of Biden’s withdrawal, all her political rivals have fallen in line. The race now is to be her veep. By Monday night she had earned the delegate support to assure a first ballot nomination.

She’s also inherited nearly $300 million in Biden funds and raised a record haul – more than $100 million in mere days. There’s an excitement we haven’t seen at the “grassroots” level in years.

I remember the 2019 announcement in Oakland for her presidential run as being filled with excitement. But then came Iowa.

She’s a different person now.  As her Indian mother would say, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

Beating back the demography deniers

Harris has learned her mother’s  lesson. She’s put the old politics into a new context as she continues to make history as the first African American, Asian American woman vice president to be nominated for the presidency.

It’s the basis for a diverse coalition, the kind that reflects a changing America going forward.

MAGA has always been known to be election deniers, but at it’s core it exists as demography deniers. Sensitivity to  birth rates and the dwindling white population has  led to the harsh anti-immigration policies advocated by the GOP.

I first heard the “minority majority” phrase back in 1989. Now in 2024, the demographic trend is approaching fast. Harris is the natural leader for that new America.

And it’s more than for show. Harris can win. Kamala the prosecutor laid out her strategy in Wilmington and again in her first rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

She’s going after Trump, the convicted felon. After prosecuting criminals all her career, Harris says, she knows “his type.”

But she also says her “people powered” campaign  will put “people first” and intends to improve the lives of ordinary working class Americans.

It’s the kind of message that attracts a crowd that octogenarians like Biden and Trump can’t reach.

But Kamala can.

Young women and people of color are attracted to Kamala, just look at social media.  Kamala the Brat? She speaks their language. In less than a week,  Harris has  put the blood back into a heretofore lackluster campaign, that has everyone energized, smiling, cheering.

Harris has become the leader of the exciting promise of a New America.

And Joe Biden, to his credit, made it happen. He will speak directly to the country on Wednesday night from the Oval Office.

He’s already shown what a big part of his legacy will be. By putting country first, he’s enabled a new generation to shine.

It doesn’t mean Harris will win. It’s still going to take a big push. But the difference between last week and today is unmistakable after Biden’s passed the torch and unleashed Kamala’s Duende Express.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He writes a column for Inquirer.net’s US Channel. See his secret talk show on YouTube@emilamok1. Contact: www.amok.com

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