Ken Salazar, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, contemplated running for president in 2024 against his former boss. According to a book excerpt obtained by Politico, Salazar considered this move after a disappointing debate performance by Biden in July 2024.
Salazar expressed concern about the management of the U.S. border situation. He stated that he urged Biden to label the situation as a ‘crisis’ and advocated for the appointment of a border czar. According to Salazar, there was a lack of political understanding of the border crisis’s reality and its potential impact on Democrats in the 2024 election.
There was political failure to understand the reality of the crisis at the border, and the political consequence it would have on Democrats in the 2024 election.
Although the word ‘crisis’ was used internally within the administration, the White House initially avoided using it publicly. Salazar shared that Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was resistant to his suggestions, citing his concerns about impeachment threats from Republicans.
While Salazar assembled a team and drafted a presidential platform, he never formally announced his candidacy. He considered running if Biden stepped down, but the Democratic Party instead chose Vice President Kamala Harris as their candidate without holding open primaries, a decision Salazar criticized as ‘a mistake.’
Salazar was also critical of Harris’s actions on immigration as the appointed border czar. He stated that her efforts to address migration were ineffective, despite the proximity of her office to the Oval Office. Harris’s role focused on addressing the ‘root causes’ of migration, but Salazar and others felt these efforts fell short.
Despite criticizing the administration’s initial handling of the border, Salazar eventually praised Biden’s decision to close the border in 2024. He acknowledged, however, that this decision came too late, allowing negative images of an uncontrolled border to influence the latter part of the election campaign.
Salazar’s book, ‘Borderlands: My Fight For An Inclusive America,’ outlines his immigration policy ideas, which he has shared with potential Democratic presidential candidates. He argues that the U.S. immigration system ‘must be fixed.’ Salazar has already met with Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego and plans to meet with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
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