Is Kamala Harris Eligible To Become President If Biden Steps Down?

President Joe Biden's 2024 presidential run has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. It started on a low as he awkwardly fumbled his words at the first presidential debate of 2024. Then, things started looking up as a more energetic Biden addressed the crowd in North Carolina. Unfortunately, they once again plummeted at the NATO conference in July, as Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" (via YouTube). In another awkward moment, he mistakenly called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky "President Putin." 

Naturally, all these fumbles led everyone to worry about Biden more than ever and wonder if he's well-suited for the position anymore. Even the Democratic National Party reportedly had their doubts about the President. After the presidential debate, NBC's chief political analyst claimed that the Democratic Party believed Biden's performance was completely unsalvageable, and that he needed to respectfully bow out of the race to give them a fighting chance against Donald Trump. 

However, only a handful of people could realistically step up for the role in the event of Biden stepping down, and one of the most natural next choices is Vice President Harris. However, a few users on X, formerly known as Twitter, have their doubts about her eligibility for the presidency. One conservative commentator shared a supposed screenshot of Harris' birth certificate, which showed her parents were born in India and Jamaica. The screenshot also showed a tweet of someone explaining that her parents' foreign roots would make her ineligible for the presidential run, but that statement isn't based in reality.

According to the official website for the United States, the country's constitution details only three criteria for presidential eligibility. A candidate must be over 35 years old, a "natural-born citizen of the United States," and have resided in the country for at least 14 years. Since Vice President Kamala Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland, California, and has primarily lived in the country throughout her life, she checks all the required boxes. 

In fact, she might even be the perfect woman for the role. In a chat with CNN, political scholar Elaine Kamarck asserted that Harris may be the most well-suited replacement for Joe Biden because she was familiar with the 4,000 Democratic delegates who nominated him as their presidential candidate. Naturally, the thought of Harris replacing Biden has also crossed the Democratic Party's mind. 

In July 2024, the New York Times reported that the Biden campaign was running a few tests to see how Harris would fare against Donald Trump in the 2024 elections. While NBC White House correspondent Monica Alba confirmed the news, she shared that a democratic operative offered a few reasons for the testing to them, saying, "Essentially, this is something you would be doing if you're trying to give a message to President Biden." The operative also stated that the test's information could serve as a "data point that you could maybe show to the President as he — in the weeks ahead — could potentially have difficult conversations about his candidacy."

During a July 2024 conference, Joe Biden admitted that Kamala Harris would make a good president, saying, "Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President [Harris] to be vice president, did I think she's not qualified to be president" (via the New York Times). However, he reassured the audience that he was the best candidate for the presidency during this election cycle. Meanwhile, when Harris addressed a different crowd in Dallas after Biden's statement, people couldn't help but notice there was a change in her demeanor. 

One commentator on X quoted a video of her speech and noted, "Kamala's sounding very Presidential here." Others pointed out that Harris deviated from old ways and didn't crack up once throughout the video. Furthermore, Newsweek reported that polls had found that Harris could be a viable replacement for Biden and could potentially have a higher chance of beating Donald Trump in the elections. 

According to the New York Times, though, a few of Biden's aides don't believe that Harris has what it takes to clinch the presidency. In contrast, several donors thought that the Vice President seems like a promising candidate after Biden's presidential debate debacle. They also believed that she could be an asset to the Democratic Party because she could get her points across in a clearer and more personable way. In addition to all these positives, Harris has also received several awards for being a political trailblazer and made history several times.