OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
For an administration that promised to bring unity to the United States following their victory in 2020, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appear to be doing their best to keep the country very divided heading into the 2024 contest.
In recent months, Biden has attacked his likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, in the harshest terms possible, relegating him and the tens of millions who support his “Make America Great Again” movement into ‘threats to democracy.’ And over the weekend, during a speech of her own ahead of the South Carolina primary, Harris continually referred to Trump in unflattering, derogatory, and patently false terms.
She said:
President Biden and I are guided by a fundamental belief: We work for you, the American people. And every day, we fight for you. Sadly, however, that is not true for everyone. Case in point: Donald Trump. Former President Trump has made clear time and time again his fight is not for the people. He fights for himself.
He openly talks about his intention to weaponize the Department of Justice. He openly says that he is, quote, “proud,” that he overturned Roe v. Wade — proud that he took the freedom of choice from millions of American women.
For years, the former President has stoked the fires of hate and bigotry and racism and xenophobia for his own power and political gain. He accused immigrants of, quote, “poisoning the blood of our country.” And after neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, he said there were, quote, “very fine people on both sides.”
The former President openly talks about his admiration for dictators and has vowed that he will be a dictator on “day one.”
Understand what dictators do. Dictators put journalists in jail. Dictators suspend elections. Dictators take your rights.
And as the great Maya Angelou once said, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time.” Well, the former President has told us who he is. And it is on us, then, to recognize the profound threat he poses to our democracy and to our freedoms.
And let us recognize: There are extremists across our country who have been inspired, encouraged, and even cowered by the former President.
The most unpopular vice president in modern history will also go down as the VP who helped JoBama tear the country apart forever.
Democrats don't care if the country is reduced to ashes, so long as they get to be in charge of them. pic.twitter.com/BGJifOxUCN
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) February 6, 2024
For the record, the ‘very fine people’ quote has been debunked time and time again, but both Biden and Harris continue to use it in a false context.
Also, in terms of ‘weaponizing the Justice Department,’ it’s Joe Biden’s DOJ that is going after Trump on a variety of charges.
Nevertheless, Harris remains among the most unpopular vice presidents in modern history.
Biden, who at 80 years old is the oldest commander-in-chief in the country’s history, continues to show signs of aging: His speech is hindered, he trips and falls a lot, the White House has taken measures to avoid having him in physically and mentally awkward positions, and there are real concerns that, should he win next year, he won’t live out his term.
Should the latter situation arise, that would mean, of course, that Harris would become president. And no one in either party wants to see that, multiple reports have said.
The news site 1945 reported in October: “According to an NBC poll from June, just 32% of Americans believe that Harris is doing a good job—a number that matched a poll from August 2022 showing virtually the same figures. The same poll found that 49% of Americans hold a negative opinion of the vice president, with some 39% telling pollsters that they have a ‘very negative’ view of her. It gave Harris a net negative approval rating of -17 percent.”
The outlet added: “After years of worsening approval ratings and polls repeatedly showing Harris to be one of the least popular and most divisive politicians in modern American history, even White House strategists are reportedly worried that the vice president could tank Biden’s chances in 2024. It’s not just the White House and high-profile Democrats coming to her defense, though; the media’s doing it too.”
The outlet noted that it’s not possible to know whether Harris is the most unpopular VP ever since current polling measures were not available in the decades after the American Republic was founded. The site also noted that then-VP Dick Cheney’s polling following the U.S. invasion of Iraq and into his second term was worse than Harris’ current basement-dwelling approval numbers.
But that’s not saying much.
