A growing number of Democrats have admitted to the Washington Post that they are "worried" about the prospect of Kamala Harris running for president - or even Vice President again, in 2024.
After interviewing more than "a dozen Democratic leaders in key states," the Post's Cleve R. Wootson found prominent party members quietly panicking over Harris' political future based on her dismal display as VP.
"Harris’s tenure has been underwhelming, they said, marked by struggles as a communicator and at times near-invisibility, leaving many rank-and-file Democrats unpersuaded that she has the force, charisma, and skill to mount a winning presidential campaign," writes Wootson.
Within the party, they add, the vice presidency has often been a steppingstone to the presidential nomination. Every sitting or former vice president who has sought the Democratic nomination since 1972 has gotten it.
Still, Biden is the only one of those who went on to capture the White House. Walter Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Al Gore fell short against George W. Bush in 2000.
Harris’s critics also question her basic political skills on the national stage. In 2016, she won her Senate seat against weak opposition, they say. In 2019, her presidential run ended before a single ballot was cast, doomed by an uneven performance on the campaign trail, weak support, faltering resources and turmoil among her advisers. -WaPo
We would submit that her constant cackling and transparently fake persona aren't helping.
Kamala Harris really said she was listening to 2Pac and Snoop when she smoked weed in college. This woman graduated college in 1986 😂😂😂 these people will lie for no reason pic.twitter.com/efx6SuhK6o
— Neon Boudeaux (@Carnage45__) February 12, 2019
The report comes days after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent clear smoke signals that she's not happy about the prospect of Harris running next year.
"I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team," Warren said on Friday. "I’ve known Kamala for a long time. I like Kamala. I knew her back when she was an attorney general and I was still teaching and we worked on the housing crisis together, so we go way back. But they need — they have to be a team, and my sense is they are — I don’t mean that by suggesting I think there are any problems. I think they are."
WATCH: Elizabeth Warren Says 'Yes' Biden Should Run Again — But REFUSES To Say Kamala Harris Should Be His VP https://t.co/v8dMffGUir pic.twitter.com/WD8iOkuFpA
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) January 28, 2023
Warren then issued a statement on Sunday 'clarifying' her position: "I fully support the president’s and vice president’s re-election together, and never intended to imply otherwise."
The Post suggests that concerns over Harris' electability fall into two categories; America is too racist and sexist to elect a woman of color as president, or that "Harris herself lacks the political skills to win a national race."
"And given the increasingly hard-edged tone of the Republican Party, they add, few Democrats are willing to roll the dice," writes Wootsen.
Critics have also slammed Harris for her hands-off approach to just about everything, including an awkward 2021 interview with NBC's Lester Holt in which "she awkwardly downplayed the urgency of visiting the U.S.-Mexico border."
According to Wooten, "That moment sparked a debate among senior members of the vice president’s team about whether such interviews hurt more than they help, Harris’s advisers said privately. For months afterward, Harris treated such interviews warily, arguably depriving her of a wider audience and a bigger impact."
via unsilencednews