Vice President’s approval ratings are falling (she is now below the RealClearPolitics average polls), and worse, she is taking the blame for President Biden’s stupid reversal on Trump’s migrant policy.
The latest blow comes in the form of a critical piece published by Politico. Based on interviews with 22 “current or former vice-presidential officials and associates with Harris and Biden”, it portrays Harris as an unpopular, incapable public figure who has for many years ruled over an “abusive office environment.”
It could also indicate that Team Biden is nervous about border crises, crime, inflation, and other issues, like Team Harris.
Harris’s defenders at Fordham University, Christina Greer, argue she was given an impossible portfolio.
Greer wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed that he fears Harris will not address “the root causes” of migration. This is partly because Harris has no “deep experience in Latin America issues or with the decades-long dilemma of federal immigration reform.”
Greer believes that Harris running in 2024 would mean that the difficult tasks given to her by Biden – immigration, voting rights, and “combating vaccination hesitancy”, – will “end up being baggage more that a boon.” Some might argue that Harris is vice-president precisely because she is black and her gender.
Harris’s problem isn’t the difficulty of the tasks she was given, it is her inability to take them seriously.
She couldhave received rave reviews about immigration by simply embracing the challenge. She should have rushed to the border, visited the detention facilities and listened to their struggles. She could have emulated Hillary Clinton and taken a “listening tour”, visiting the border communities trying to absorb the flood of illegal immigrants, as well as spending time with migrants.
She would also have been respected for her independence and willingness to take risks if she had requested the White House to renew “Remain in Mexico”, for example, or any other rules that were still working.
She didn’t do any of these things and instead laughed at questions about travelling to the border and how she managed to avoid that undertaking for 93 consecutive days. She quickly made it clear that she wasn’t responsible for the border as such, but was instead focused on the “root causes of migration.” This was a punt that led to a trip in Mexico, which was deemed a “disaster”, even by some of Biden’s close aides.
It’s no surprise that a recent Harvard Harvard CAPs/Harris survey found that only 30% thought Harris had done an excellent job in dealing with the border problem. While 44% thought Harris did a poor job. A convincing 74 percent believed she should have visited it earlier.
Harris also has not had an impact on the vaccination roll-out , which has not met Biden’s target. Harris, who is fully vaccinated, often wears masks which can be detrimental to her pitch.
Harris also cast doubts on Trump’s vaccine early on. This was in an attempt to weaken Operation Warp Speed ahead of the election. This was not helpful.
Harris’s approval rating is slightly negative. However, this does not show the problem below. For example, in a recent YouGov survey 46 percent viewed Harris favorably while 23 percent disapproved.
Harris is unlikely to win the nomination for president in 2024. However, her chances of winning are very high.
Biden’s popularity is declining; many Americans won’t notice it. Twitter is full of clips of President Biden looking confused and spewing bizarre word salads. CNN and The New York Times, however, are unable to give their viewers such glimpses into Joe Biden’s increasingly bizarre world.
He hugged the microphone close to whisper messages to journalists about the bipartisan infrastructure bill. His eyes were wide open and staring as he spoke about it to reporters.
This was unusual.
Biden’s problem isn’t just his language. His recent flip-flop regarding the bipartisan infrastructure bill demonstrates that his policymaking is also confused.
Is Biden able to make it through his term? Maybe. However, if Democrats experience large losses in 2022 as many believe likely, they might decide that Biden must go. Democrats could be hurt by having an inefficient president who has ruled over a wounded White House for the past two years.
This is when Nancy Pelosi (D.Calif.), the House Speaker, and other Democratic leaders might ask Biden to resign. They could invoke the 25th Amendment in extreme cases, not to save the country, but to save their party. Kamala Harris would be elected president in that scenario. This might not be a good idea for Democrats.
