OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris is not the most popular person in the United States but now she is even taking fire from her own side.
This week she was heckled during two speeches by protesters who had concerns over issues from the Democrat electorate.
She was with Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former Governor Terry McAuliffe on Thursday when she was heckled by protesters concerned about an oil pipeline, Inside NoVa reported.
Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage saying it matters who will be the next leader of Virginia, and then, a half-dozen protestors, in several locations among the crowd, interrupted her speech by yelling ‘Stop line 3,’ a reference to a tar-sands pipeline from Canada to Wisconsin.
As the audience tried to counter by chanting “Terry,” Harris smiled and said, “I love Democrats and I love democracy.” But the chants continued, so she punched through the chants by saying loudly, “We will not be distracted. We will not be dissuaded. We will not be deterred. This election is too important.”
Security stepped in and escorted the protesters away from the speech and Harris continued to promote McAuliffe.
“You want to know what matters? Let’s talk about the right that every woman in America has to make decisions about her own body, and not have other people tell her when she should make that decision, how she should make that decision, or if she should make that decision. Don’t Texas Virginia,” she said.
“[Terry McAuliffe] has the life experience and professional experience, the experience of this state. If you know Terry McAuliffe you know he’s a fighter and he fights with his heart and soul,” the vice president said.
“We’ve got to make it clear we’re not taking anything for granted. This election requires more than your vote – it requires your work,” she said. “There is nothing about this moment in time that is not about the coexistence between crisis and opportunity. How that all balances out will depend on who’s in a role of leadership. Does it weigh in favor of crisis, or does crisis turn into opportunity?”
And at an event to promote the Joe Biden Build Back Better agenda at the Northeast Bronx YMCA in New York she was interrupted by a protester concerned about the flooding from Hurricane Ida.
“A protester in a hoodie in the crowd interrupted the speech, yelling, at 12:56 p.m. It was tough to make out what he was saying, but he mentioned flooding. VP responded: ‘You are right’ and said she would talk to him after. He was promptly ushered out of the gym,” a pool report said, Mediaite reported.
“You are right brother,” she said to the man. “You and I will talk after I give my comments and I am happy to talk with you. But right now let’s talk about the agenda that will include speaking to all people and allowing everybody to be heard because that’s part of what we want in our democracy. Everybody gets a chance to talk and everybody gets a chance to be heard.”
The man was escorted from the premises by security but was still shouting.
Polling for Harris has not been stellar which raises concerns for Democrats if she, and not Joe Biden, were to be the Democrat nominee in 2024, Meredith Minto of Right Side Broadcasting Network said.
“New polling shows Kamala Harris is rising in the ranks as Joe Biden sinks to the bottom with each passing week, but what does this mean for the future of the Biden administration?” Minto noted in a column published on Sunday.
She said that a recent Gallup poll showed that Harris’ approval rating was higher than Biden’s by almost six points, 49 percent to the president’s 43 percent, while adding that Harris’ positive rating “is just where Joe Biden’s approval was circa 20098 when he was Barack Obama’s vice president.”
