OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval ratings have never been as good as those of President Joe Biden — and his haven’t been spectacular, especially over the past several months.
But according to a new survey, she has officially become the least popular VP in modern history.
An NBC News survey, conducted earlier this month and published this week, found that just 32 percent of registered voters have a positive view of Harris compared to 49 percent who have a negative view, leaving a net negative rating of -17 points, or “the lowest for any vice president in the poll’s history,” the outlet reported Monday.
Indeed, 39 percent of respondents said they have a “very negative” view of Harris.
The outlet noted that Harris’ approval rating is the lowest for a VP since 1995 when Al Gore was VP to President Bill Clinton. During his tenure, VP Mike Pence was at 34 percent positive and 38 percent negative in October 2019 for a -4 rating.
Throughout her tenure in the White House, Harris has faced criticism from detractors who argue that she did not adequately prioritize her role as the leader of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the migration challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border or other initiatives she’s been tasked with. Her public speaking engagements have often been subjected to ridicule due to what some perceive as a continuous stream of incoherent “word salads.”
Despite her low approval ratings, President Joe Biden opted to retain Harris as his running mate when announcing his 2024 re-election campaign in April despite her lousy approval ratings. According to Axios, during that time, the White House and Biden’s campaign were actively working to reshape Harris’s public image, as there were concerns that she could potentially have a negative impact on the ticket.
Because of her unpopularity and Biden’s obvious fading mental and physical capabilities, Democrats have grown increasingly fearful of her taking over as president should Biden, who is 80 and the oldest president in the country’s history, become incapacitated.
Earlier this year, for instance, Democrats were once again piling on Harris, questioning her “basic political skills” and avoiding outright endorsing her for the presidency.
According to Washington Post reporter Cleve R. Wootson Jr., several Democrats have anonymously expressed concern about the potential for her to lead the party or even remain as vice president after 2024, Fox News reported.
In a story under the headline, “Some Democrats are worried about Harris’s political prospects,” Wootson noted that it was based on interviews with “more than a dozen Democratic leaders in key states,” adding that several prominent members of the party have concerns about Harris’ political future based on her VP experience.
“Harris’s tenure has been underwhelming, they said, marked by struggles as a communicator and at times near-invisibility, leaving many rank-and-file Democrats unpersuaded that she has the force, charisma, and skill to mount a winning presidential campaign,” he wrote.
“People are poised to pounce on anything — any misstep, any gaffe, anything she says — and so she’s probably not getting the benefit of the doubt,” said former Cobb County Democrats Chair Jacquelyn Bettadapur, a Harris supporter. She added, “It doesn’t help that she’s not [that] adept as a communicator.”
The story comes on the heels of a radio interview with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who praised Harris personally but refused to endorse her vice presidency in the upcoming election cycle.
“I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team,” Warren said. “I’ve known Kamala for a long time. I like Kamala. I knew her back when she was an attorney general and I was still teaching and we worked on the housing crisis together, so we go way back. But they need — they have to be a team, and my sense is they are — I don’t mean that by suggesting I think there are any problems. I think they are.”
She later walked back those comments.
