Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a more active approach to her and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, but some of the Democratic Party’s biggest names remain frustrated over what they see as missed opportunities.
Those frustrations have come out during weekend meetings at Harris’s Naval Observatory residence, where the vice president has listened to Democratic leaders and tried to crack the campaign’s “information bubble,” CNN reported. Such leaders included Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), and Wes Moore (D-MD).
Harris’s active efforts in coordinating with and listening to her fellow Democrats have reportedly been well received. But a feeling of stagnation remains, with leading Democrats worried it will lead to their downfall in November.
Whitmer, at a meeting last Saturday, blasted Biden and Harris for how they’ve been talking about abortion rights, according to more than two dozen sources to whom the outlet spoke, while Pritzker aired his frustrations over the Biden campaign not attacking Republicans and Trump enough on working against the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill.
But perhaps most troublesome is Biden and Harris’s regression with young voters. Both the president and vice president have been targeted for not doing more to protect Palestinians in Gaza, as well as other issues that young voters often prioritize.
As Harris has reportedly said on occasion, she doesn’t worry much about Biden losing outright to Trump, but she does worry about losing “to the couch.”
Both Harris and Biden have faced historically low approval ratings during their time in office. The negativity surrounding Harris has led Republicans to warn voters she will be the next president if Biden is reelected, given the incumbent octogenarian’s age.
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“I am ready to serve,” she said just last week, no doubt hearing the noise about Biden and whether she could step up if needed. “There’s no question about that.”
Harris’s increased role in the campaign, should she continue to listen and implement changes, will certainly put her in a good light to the Democratic leaders starving for confidence, but it will come with its risks, too, with Republicans ready to take advantage of any mistake.
