For all the Biden administration’s efforts to make Kamala Harris into a co-consul in the bipartite “Biden-Harris administration,” the public has not taken as warmly to the vice president as they have to her boss.
Among registered voters, the vice president’s favorability—distinct from whether they approve or disapprove of the job she is doing—routinely underperforms Joe Biden’s. Moreover, voters who have an unfavorable view of Harris are more likely to have a “very unfavorable” view of her than her supporters are to express a “very favorable” opinion of her.
Maybe that explains why the Biden White House seems so comfortable setting Harris up for failure. It’s hardly unusual for vice presidents to be tasked by their boss with heading this or the other task force with the aim of mitigating the undesirable effects of the latest crisis. Political observers could be forgiven for thinking there is no higher purpose behind this tried and tested strategy than ensuring the White House has a readily disposable fall guy when things go south. And yet, it’s hard not to notice that Kamala Harris has received more than her fair share of unenviable tasks—particularly given her high profile in the Biden administration.
And she winds up with headlines like this: Vice President’s Office on Defense After Faceless Kamala Cookies Go Viral.
The Vice President’s office clarified a decision by Kamala Harris to hand out cookies with her likeness on them to reporters at an off-the-record visit during her trip to Guatemala.
In a statement to reporters on background on Monday, the Vice President’s office said that cookies were a “gift” from a staff member to the team marking her first foreign trip as the vice president.
“Cookies that were provided to passengers on Air Force Two on Sunday were a gift from a member of the staff,” the statement to reporters read. “The vice president wanted to make sure the cookies were shared with everyone.”
USA Today White House correspondent Courtney Subramanian shared a photo of the cookies on Twitter on Sunday — which immediately drew fire from the vice president’s political opponents.
Thus allowing GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel an easy layup on social media: “Handing out cookies with her face on them as the border crisis rages…The modern-day equivalent of ‘let them eat cake.’”
Why is President Klain’s team so bad at optics? President Klain himself is perplexed by his would-be second in command: White House “perplexed” that Harris bungled question about visiting the southern border.
h/t Ed Driscoll