OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
For the duration of President Joe Biden’s term, polling has consistently shown that Americans are not fond of his vice president, Kamala Harris. As bad as his polling has been at times, hers is consistently worse.
So when she made a statement this week that appeared to lay bare her presidential ambitions, voters on both sides of the political aisle took notice — and not in a good way.
On Wednesday, Harris insisted she was ready to “take over” as president amid increasing concerns about Biden’s advanced age — 81 — and the appearance that his mental status could be in serious decline.
That said, Harris said Biden is doing fine and can effectively serve another term — he would be 86 at the end of his second term — during an ASEAN conference in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The UK’s Daily Mail reported:
The AP’s Chris Megerian pointed to last week’s AP-NORC poll that found 77 percent of Americans, including 69 percent of Democrats, believe Biden is too old to run for reelection.
A Wall Street Journal poll out Monday had similar findings, with 73 percent of voters saying Biden is too old to run again, including two-thirds of Democrats.
Harris dismissed concerns and said Biden was ready to serve as president until January 2025.
“First of all, let me say that our president has been an extraordinary leader who has accomplished things that previous presidents hoped and dreamed and promised they would do and did not achieve,” she said.
“So yes, I see him every day, a substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people, have played out,” she added, according to the outlet.
“And so I will say to you, that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers – and Joe Biden delivers,” she said.
Asked by Megerian if she was ready to serve as president should she need to, she responded: “Yes.”
He went on to ask her to “describe that process.”
“Well, first of all, let’s – I’m answering your hypothetical – but Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” she began.
“But let us also understand that every vice president, every vice president, understands that when they take the oath, that they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president,” she said, adding: “I am no different.”
In June, NBC News found that her approval rating had hit its lowest during her veep tenure, with an anemic 32 percent of voters approving of her.
Republican presidential contenders have used Harris’ epic unpopularity as a rallying cry for their campaigns and their party.
“We cannot have Kamala Harris as president. We can’t chance this,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Fox Business’ Sunday Morning Futures late last month, per the Daily Mail.
“We have to make sure we have a new generational leader who will bring in not only Republicans but independents, suburban women, Hispanics, and the Asian community,” she continued. “We have to make sure we win this because the thought of Kamala Harris being president should send a chill up every Americans’ spine.”
Also, late last month, SiriusXM podcaster Megyn Kelly tore into Harris over the latter’s inability to deliver coherent arguments about policy. The former Fox News host slammed Harris over her constant “word salad” explanations of various topics and her inability to clearly define issues to audiences.
“Her and [White House press secretary] Karine Jean-Pierre are cut from the same cloth — actually saying absolutely nothing with tons of words toward that end. It is a skill that shouldn’t be underestimated … it’s an embarrassment,” Kelly said.
“I did not think she was an idiot. I now think she’s a moron. She’s not that smart. Forgive me, I’m still one of those people who gets wooed by titles like, ‘She was the attorney general in the state of California.’ You know, how dumb could she be? Like, dumb. The answer is very, very dumb,” Kelly declared.
