One of the most interesting developments to come out of Washington, D.C. over the last couple of weeks has been the growing consensus among left-wing commentators that Joe Biden should consider dumping Kamala Harris in order to “strengthen” the Democratic ticket in 2024.
It’s understandable, considering Harris’ approval ratings have, like Biden’s, been underwater for months.
But what’s far more intriguing than what’s coming out of elite Beltway media circles is what we’ve heard and seen from powerful Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who essentially threw Harris under the bus when asked Wednesday by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if Harris was the best choice for Biden going into what’s expected to be a tough election year.
As we previously reported, Pelosi’s remarks were not exactly a strong vote of confidence for the veep. For those who missed her comments, here’s what she said:
COOPER: Do you think she is the best running mate?
PELOSI: She’s the vice president of the United States. Now people say to me, well, why isn’t she doing this or that. I said because she’s the vice president. That’s the job description.
You don’t do that much. Mm-hmm, you know, you, you know?
The grin on Pelosi’s face sort of gave away the game. Watch:
NEW: Nancy Pelosi admits that Kamala Harris does nothing and says the reason for this is because that’s the role of the Vice President, to literally do nothing.
Remarkable.
“She’s the vice president of the United States. So when people say to me: ‘well, why isn’t she doing this… pic.twitter.com/BrKQcBT8yz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 14, 2023
Perhaps even more eye-opening than Pelosi’s comments were those of House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who dodged Jake Tapper’s question on Kamala as Biden’s VP four times Thursday, including one where Raskin hinted that maybe Biden would be naming a new running mate at the DNC convention:
TAPPER: “It’s not a — no one’s making about personalities. I mean, like, it’s just a simple question. Do you think Kamala Harris is the best running mate for President Biden? You’ve sent she’s excellent, that’s farther than Speaker Pelosi went. But do you think she’s the — I’m not trying to throw anything into turmoil. I actually think it’s a pretty simple question. Do you think Kamala Harris is the best running mate for President Biden? Yes or no?”
RASKIN: “I mean, I don’t know what else I can say other than she –“
TAPPER: “You could say yes.”
RASKIN: “– would be an excellent running mate and an excellent vice president. I don’t know whether President Biden is named his running mate. We’re going to a convention next summer. It’s, you know, a year away from now, then we’re going to go through that process. So –“
Watch Raskin flounder and flail below:
FULL EXCHANGE: Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin refuses — FOUR TIMES — to say if he believes Kamala Harris is Biden’s best choice for vice president pic.twitter.com/ogTVKFf3nm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 14, 2023
Though I’m reluctant to admit it because I’m not a fan of Tapper’s, he’s right on this. It shouldn’t be a hard question for Democrats to give a straight answer on. And if it is, then that confirms speculation that there is indeed trouble in paradise on Capitol Hill as it relates to whether Harris should be brought along for a run at a second term.
I should note for the record that one of the first prominent Democrats to spark that speculation was Sen. Liz Warren (D-Mass.), who back in January refused to outright endorse Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s VP:
“I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team,” she said. “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.”
As I said at the time, though it’s unlikely to happen considering what Biden has said about Harris as well as the obligations Biden feels to those same woke, prominent backers he was beholden to in 2020, it was still amusing to see Democrats like Warren (and now Pelosi and Rankin) confirm in their own ways that there are really no true friends in electoral politics – just people who can be tossed to the side once they’ve outlived their usefulness.
And in the case of Kamala Harris, in my opinion, it couldn’t be happening to a more deserving person.
Flashback –>> Awkward: Joe Biden Can’t Explain Why He Picked Kamala Harris as His Vice President
