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President Joe Biden faces many obstacles on his road to reelection in 2024, including a shaky economy, issues at the border and sinking approval ratings. Then there’s Vice President Kamala Harris, who has faced heavy criticism, even from fellow Democrats, since taking office. Biden’s advanced age — he would be 82 at the start of a second term — has only heightened the scrutiny around Harris. But is she being held to an unfair standard?
Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid says much of the criticism about Harris is rooted in misogyny and racism and believes it’s way past time the vice president gets the credit she deserves.
Look, Kamala Harris is qualified for the presidency. She spent two decades as a public servant. She was the first Black woman to be elected District Attorney in California’s history, the first woman to be California’s Attorney General, the first Indian American senator, and the first Black woman and Asian American to be a vice president. Just think for a moment about the obstacles that she had to overcome to make any of those remarkable achievements possible.
Now, there are absolutely valid critiques of Harris’ performance. She’s made some public gaffes that drew outsized press attention — again, racism and sexism were involved here. Her team has had some management issues, and there have been complaints of a less-than-healthy work environment. And as the person at the top, she has to own that.
And we all know that her efforts at the border have not gone well from a PR perspective, at all. But we have to remember that just because this administration’s successes, and there have been many, have been attributed to Biden, that doesn’t mean that Harris had nothing to do with them. And that’s where Biden really needs to step up. He absolutely must begin elevating Harris publicly and providing her with more opportunities to visibly succeed than vice presidents traditionally enjoy.
Now, I believe that Kamala Harris would make an excellent president should the need arise. But given the already outsized challenges she faces, Biden’s team has got to do a better job of amplifying her voice and giving her credit where it’s due.
