OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris had quite a meltdown on Thursday morning during an interview one day after Joe Biden’s horrendous press conference at the White House.
Harris appeared on the TODAY show on the one-year anniversary of Joe Biden’s inauguration and struggled mightily to answer basic questions about what the administration has accomplished thus far.
Harris was confronted about Democrats voting overhaul bill failing in the Senate, Democrats failing to nuke the Senate filibuster, Biden’s horrific poll numbers, and the administration’s handling of the pandemic.
The VP became noticeably frustrated when host Savannah Guthrie confronted her about comments Biden made on Wednesday when he appeared to suggest the 2022 midterm elections may not be “free and fair” if Congress doesn’t pass the Democrats two election overhaul bills.
Below is a transcript of the exchange between Guthrie and Harris:
GUTHRIE: “Let’s talk about another comment the president made. He openly cast doubt on whether the 2022 midterm elections would be legitimate. He said it all depends, which is astonishing to hear a president question whether our elections will be legitimate. We’ve heard it before, but not from this president. Is he really concerned that we may not have fair and free elections?”
HARRIS: “The president has been consistent on this issue and the issue at hand, the issue — I was there last night in the chamber of the Senate and the issue is that there are two bills, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, that have been the solution that has been offered to address the fact that around our country states have put in place laws that are purposely making it more difficult for the American people to vote. Laws which will be felt by at least 55 million Americans regardless of their party affiliation, their race, their gender or their geographic location —” [crosstalk]
GUTHRIE: “Well, to the point, because those bills were debated — the bills were debated and they didn’t pass —”
HARRIS: “If I may finish — if I may finish —” [crosstalk]
GUTHRIE: “But the specific question, if you don’t mind, does he think now that these bills haven’t been passed that the ’22 midterms won’t be legitimate or fair or free?”
HARRIS: “Let’s not conflate issues. So, what we are looking at and the topic of so much debate last night was that we as America cannot afford to allow this blatant erosion of our democracy, and in particular, the right of all Americans who are eligible to vote to have access to the ballot unfettered. That is the topic of the conversation. And let’s not be distracted by the political gamesmanship when what is truly at stake are issues like whether Americans with disability have the opportunity to vote by mail, whether a single parent has the opportunity with three kids in the backseat to vote by dropping off their ballot in a dropbox instead of having to stand in line with those three kids for hours. These are the issues that are at stake.” [crosstalk]
GUTHRIE: “And the president laid a lot of —”
HARRIS: “And they are significant and pivotal issues in terms of our democracy. We had an extensive conversation about foreign policy, Savannah.”
GUTHRIE: “Yeah.”
HARRIS: “Well, I’ve met with prime ministers and presidents from around the globe, both partners and allies of ours, they are asking what is going on with voting rights in America because they look to us as a role model of what it means to be a democracy and they are monitoring to wonder and question whether there is an erosion of our democracy and, therefore, an erosion of one of the best role models of what a democracy does and can do.”
WATCH:
“If Russia takes aggressive action, it will be met with severe costs.”
Watch @SavannahGuthrie’s full interview with @VP Kamala Harris on Russia-Ukraine tensions and voting rights legislation. pic.twitter.com/500tX6R8SM
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 20, 2022
