In the aftermath of President Joe Biden announcing Sunday that he was withdrawing from the presidential race, speculation has of course turned just a few weeks ahead of the DNC as to who Democrats will choose to put in his place. 

Naturally, this has meant many more eyes on Vice President Kamala Harris, who made her intentions clear soon after his announcement and who Biden endorsed in a brief second statement issued after the first one failed to do so.

In the eyes of her critics, Harris has absolutely been an abysmal failure as Biden's veep on many fronts, most notably on the border crisis issue, where Biden made her the border czar early on in his presidency, only to see the crisis worsen under his and her combined "leadership."

READ MORE: The Greatest Hits of Kamala Harris

As I write this, Democrat stalwarts and media revisionists (but I repeat myself) are undoubtedly busy trying to rewrite Harris' troubling track record - including the one she had as a United States senator. But there's one issue from which Harris may not be able to escape: her role in covering for Joe Biden even as it was obvious to senior cabinet members, the press, and beyond as to what was really going on:

I think the biggest question is how Harris distances herself from the unpopular parts of Biden’s presidency, and how she explains her insistence that he was at the top of his game. https://t.co/4UFJ1qGPYp

— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) July 21, 2024

This is not a small problem for her. It's important enough that the Trump campaign emphasized it in their first ad against Harris, as we previously reported:

Kamala was in on it. She covered up Joe's obvious mental decline. Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American Dream dead. pic.twitter.com/H3Oyew0ug9

— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) July 21, 2024

One of the biggest cons in American political history was exposed for what it was after Joe Biden's nightmarish debate performance against Donald Trump in late June, a performance that confirmed what his opposition (and some on his side of the aisle) have been saying since 2019 when he declared his presidential candidacy.  

Unlike other candidate negatives that often quickly fade from view, though, I think this one is going to stick with the American people for a long time.  Kamala Harris has been saying since Day One that Biden was sharp, mentally focused, and doing the job leaders are supposed to do even as she had to know behind the scenes that there was trouble in BidenWorld, with Biden needing handlers in virtually all aspects of his life including public appearances where Handler in Chief Jill Biden played a prominent role.

No matter the media/Dem spin we'll hear in the coming weeks, I don't see how she emerges unscathed from this. The press knew. Cabinet members knew. Democrat members of Congress knew. And the Vice President of the United States? She knew, too. As far as I'm concerned, that's a bridge too far, but assuming she ends up being the nominee, ultimately it will be up to voters to decide.

Flashback: Heartbreak in KamalaWorld After Hilariously Brutal 'Daily Show' Skit on Infamous Word Salads