President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance last week has left many Democrats feeling uncertain about whether he should be their party's nominee.

According to Politico, that situation has left Vice President Kamala Harris in the midst of a baffling dilemma. 

Harris forced to continue defending Biden

That position was put forward by Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo, who noted that unlike other prominent Democrats, Harris is all but precluded from jockeying to be Biden's replacement.

"There's nothing that she could do externally that would be wise," Trujillo told the website. "Her best strategy is to internally just be an amazing VP."

An example of that limitation came in the form of Harris remarks about the president's debate's debate performance last Thursday night.

In a post-debate interview with @andersoncooper, Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledges that Biden's debate performance had its issues.

"It was a slow start, that was obvious to everyone, I’m not going to debate that point—I’m talking about the choice in November," she says. pic.twitter.com/tkz17WhPQl

— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) June 28, 2024

"It was a slow start, that was obvious to everyone, I'm not going to debate that point—I'm talking about the choice in November," Harris told CNN host Anderson Cooper.

Vice president walked fine line following debate

Politico noted that the vice president sought to "project confidence as quickly and clearly as possible" about Biden while still "preserving credibility by recognizing how weak the debate had been."

It cited an unnamed senior Harris aide who said, "She wanted to have an acknowledgment of what everybody was seeing."

Yet one ally of the vice president nevertheless expressed frustration that she is not being held up as a potential contender for Biden's job, telling Politico, "They still don't get that the message you're saying to people, to this Democratic Party, is, we prefer a white person."

However, polling data suggests that Harris would have a tough time beating former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head battle.

Polls show Harris would lose to Trump

A New York Times/Siena survey revealed in March found that Harris would only win 42% of the national popular vote, four points short of Trump's total.

Meanwhile, a Fox News poll released late last year suggested that Trump would beat the vice president by a five-point margin.

The Fox News survey also reported that just 38% of voters expressed approval of Harris' performance as vice president, compared to 59% who said they disapproved.