Kamala Harris’ popularity continues to dwindle with the public and her party.
She has an approval rating that is even more abysmal than her boss’s. Is she a victim of Joe Biden’s failures or responsible for her own misfortunes?
According to a survey by USA Today that was conducted earlier this month, Ms. Harris’ public approval rating sat at 28%, making her one of the least popular vice presidents in modern history – lower even than Iraq War architect Dick Cheney, who was reviled by the left.
The pollsters fault Harris’s dismal numbers as tied to those of Biden – and for the same reasons – inflation and the economy. Should American start to feel less pain at the pump and the grocery store checkout lines, and Biden’s approval ratings rise, many pundits say Harris’s should rise as well.
However, others are not so sure, believing that there is plenty of trouble with Harris that is of her own making. Mainly, since becoming VP, she has been handed two difficult tasks, both of which she has been failing miserably at – securing the border and enacting nationwide voting reform.
The crisis at the border shows little signs of abating any time soon. As for voter reform, her and her boss’s attempts to get anything meaningful through Congress have been all but futile, and being associated with futility is not a recipe for political success and popularity with voters.
Now that the Republicans have taken control of the House, any further attempts at voter reform will be DOA.
Her supporters attribute much of the criticism to racism and sexism against Harris. But, her own disastrous run for the White House proves that there is more to it than that.
Ms. Harris’ presidential campaign began with a bang. Her kick-off rally in January 2019 drew tens of thousands of supporters to Oakland, California. She rocketed to near the top of polls after performing strongly in the first primary debate later that June.
Then she came crashing back down to earth, beset by staff upheaval, underwhelming media interviews and subsequent debates, and no clear message or constituency in the party.
That kind of chaos followed her into the Vice-Presidency, with gaffes that sometimes make Joe Biden seem scholarly and a revolving door staff. She has had staffers leave, even at the highest levels, including her communications chief and press spokesperson both resigning.
A particularly stinging blow came in the Washington Post, where an anonymous former staffer said she was unwilling to do the work necessary for the job and took out her frustration on her aides.
“With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence,” the former staffer said. “So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully, and it’s not really clear why.”
Compounding all of this, there has been steady talk of friction between her office and the rest of the White House, and as stated earlier, she has been unable to settle on a policy issue that she has been able to turn into a positive political calling card.
For now, Joe Biden says if he runs again in 2024, Harris will again be his running mate. Where that may have helped in his first victory, it may prove detrimental should he run again. And, should he decide to be a one-term president, despite her own ambitions, Harris’s chances of becoming the Democratic nominee are slim.
Should she somehow emerge as the candidate, her chances of taking the White House are even slimmer.