Nigeria’s former minister of foreign affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi, has said that Kamala Harris will be a formidable opponent for Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, emphasising that Harris is going to be a hard nut for Trump to crack.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Akinyemi recalled a previous appearance on the programme, noting, “I mentioned three or four weeks ago after the debate that it would be a disaster for the Democrats if they are perceived as pushing and abandoning Joe Biden. But if he himself withdraws willingly, then at least the ground would be open.”
On Harris’s candidacy, Akinyemi remarked, “President Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party is a good choice, not necessarily because of her own character but because she is the Vice President.”
He warned against underestimating Harris, saying, “I hope nobody is going to underestimate Kamala Harris. She had to take a low profile, and I said it three weeks ago that when you are the Vice President, you cannot be seen outshining the President. You do what the President tells you to do.”
Akinyemi continued, “Kamala Harris is going to be a hard nut for Trump to crack. Be careful of lawyers, especially someone who has been an attorney general and prosecutor. She will take you to pieces with the way she will put her own questions and the way she will use you to wipe the floor. She won the Senate seat by 60% from California when she ran, so you see that she is not an easy nut to crack.”
Addressing the unpredictable nature of the election, Akinyemi noted, “We have a very unusual situation in our hands, and it’s no use making a prediction. All predictions will just be thinking out of the box. We don’t know what will happen at the convention, and we don’t know what will happen in the confrontation between Trump and Harris.”
He also mentioned the potential reactions of Americans, stating, “We don’t know how the Americans are going to react to the possibility of the first black lady occupying the office.”
Akinyemi praised Harris’s approach following her nomination, saying, “Harris has not put on any sense of triumphalism after Biden anointed her. She said in that acceptance speech that she is not going to take the convention for granted and will work hard to get the support of the delegates. She has a good opportunity because, in a way, it is a joint ticket. Both she and Biden ran for each one of the primaries.”
Discussing challenges Harris may face, Akinyemi pointed out, “The problem Harris faces is, one, the war in Gaza. She is going to carry Biden’s burden, and my mind goes way back to Gilbert Humphrey, who carried the burden of the Vietnam War. He disagreed with Johnson but could not come out to say it openly.”
He highlighted Harris’s strengths on key issues, particularly abortion rights, noting, “Harris has great issues to run with, one being the abortion case. It’s a gold case for a woman to make in a way that Biden could not. Harris would be able to gather the votes of the women who had the right to control their body.”
Reflecting on Biden’s recent appearances, Akinyemi observed, “If you watched Joe Biden after the debate, the way he was walking, the mistakes he was making even at the conference. Biden had no other choice than to do the honourable thing and withdraw from the race. He has done an honourable thing, and anytime we talk about this 10 years from now, we will still be using the word honourable.”
Akinyemi likened Biden to Lyndon B. Johnson, stating, “Joe Biden has done a lot for the United States, he reminds me of Lyndon B. Johnson who also served not only the Democratic Party but the United States for a very long time. Unfortunately, his was not age but the disaster of the Vietnam War.”
Akinyemi concluded, “If I’m to put my money on it, I will put my money on Harris to win the presidential election, despite the fact that she has been brought in as the head of the ticket on short notice. The fact that 30 million and above has poured in since the anointing of Harris shows that at least the donors are not hostile towards her. She herself has indicated that the water is warm, and anyone else who wants to jump in can do so, but she will have her head start. I don’t think there’s any governor who would want to go into that race with that kind of negativity hanging around their heads.”
Akinyemi praised Harris’s strategic approach, saying, “If you read Harris’s acceptance speech after the president made his own statement, she has been clever in what she has said, which I would expect of a clever lawyer. She said she wasn’t taking things for granted, and she will work and fight for the nomination. For me to pick a candidate to be the vice president, I don’t know who will add value to Harris’s candidacy.”
NNEOMA UDENSI
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