As it stand right now, one has to wonder how Kamala Harris even remains on the ticket in 2024, regardless of who the nominee might be
By Joe Concha
She was supposed to be the one-term president's successor. The vice president who would take the torch from a by-then-80-something Joe Biden and carry on the administration's agenda while becoming the first woman and the first woman of color to capture the White House as the nation's 47th president.
But as things stand now, one has to wonder how Kamala Harris even remains on the ticket in 2024, regardless of who the nominee might be.
A USA Today-Suffolk University poll finds that just 28% of voters — less than 3 in 10 — approve of the job Harris is doing.- For context, that's 10% below her boss (38% approve, 59% disapprove).
- For more context, Harris was at 46% approval and 40% disapproval upon entering office, per USA Today-Suffolk.
1.) She's Practically Invisible
It's been 153 days since her last sit-down interview with a major broadcast news entity, in the form of NBC's Lester Holt. You may recall that was the beginning of the end of the administration's confidence in her abilities to handle even the most basic of questions.
"Do you have any plans to visit the border?" Holt asked.
"At some point, you know, we are going to the border," Harris replied, before oddly repeating herself as if a short-circuit had occurred. "We've been to the border. So, this whole thing about the border — we’ve been to the border. We've been to the border."
"You haven't been to the border," Holt correctly noted.
"And I haven't been to Europe," Harris snapped before laughing. “And, I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making."
"At some point, you know, we are going to the border," Harris replied, before oddly repeating herself as if a short-circuit had occurred. "We've been to the border. So, this whole thing about the border — we’ve been to the border. We've been to the border."
"You haven't been to the border," Holt correctly noted.
"And I haven't been to Europe," Harris snapped before laughing. “And, I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making."
Since then, the only interview Harris has granted was to "The View" on ABC. Her own staff couldn't have provided a gentler platform.
The vice president has yet to do a solo press conference. Out of sight, out of mind. And when judging Harris solely on the primary task she was given by the president, 23 percent approve of the administration's handling of the U.S. border, or less than one-quarter.
2.) Harris was Never Liked Much to Begin with
Harris has been dubbed a 2020 presidential candidate. But that's a misnomer, because she never even got to 2020 as a candidate. Never got to Iowa or New Hampshire. She was polling lower than even Andrew Yang in her home state of California in December 2019, prompting her to drop out while seeming to blame Democratic voters for misogyny and racism.
Harris told Axios at the time:
"I have also started to perhaps be more candid talking about what I describe and what I believe to be the elephant in the room about my campaign."
Axios: "What is that?"
Harris: "Electability."
Axios: "What do you mean?"
Harris: "Electability. You know, essentially, is America ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United States?"
Axios: "What is that?"Harris: "Electability."
Axios: "What do you mean?"
Harris: "Electability. You know, essentially, is America ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United States?"
Yet, Barack Obama was twice elected president as a person of color, while Hillary Clinton captured 3 million more votes than Donald Trump in the 2016 general election. So there's that.
Overall, the USA Today-Suffolk poll has some disturbing numbers for Biden-Harris. Consider the answers to the question, “What is the one thing Americans want President Biden to do in the next year?”
- Resign/retire/quit: 20%
- Economy/jobs: 11%
- Unite/help the country: 8%
- Immigration/border control: 8%
- COVID/mandates: 6%
- Infrastructure bills: 5%
- Inflation: 4%
- Health care: 3%
- Climate change/environment: 3%
- Bipartisanship: 3%
Even more revealing: 64% of Americans (nearly two-thirds) don’t want Biden to run again, including a whopping 28% of Democrats.
Can the administration turn this around? Perhaps. But some shake-ups will be needed. Some accountability. A pivot to something resembling the middle. But we've seen no inclination to make such a pivot, to make staff changes.
Republicans now lead Democrats by 8% on the Congressional Ballot, per USA Today's survey. Just four seats need to be flipped for Republicans to take control of the House, just one net overall in the Senate.
- President Obama lost 63 seats in 2010 before losing the Senate in 2014.
- President Donald Trump lost 43 seats in 2018 before losing the Senate in 2020.
But at 28% approval, it's hard to see how the V.P. ever takes the next step – to the Oval Office. Joe Concha is a media & politics columnist for The Hill.
