US Vice President Harris: Hope or Disappointment?

It is not yet clear whether US President Biden will run again in the 2024 election. But who would be an alternative for the Democrats? Vice President Harris has faded away and isn’t very popular, but he won’t write her off just yet.

Two years ago Kamala Harris’ video went around the world. While she was jogging, she learned that Joe Biden had won the presidential election and that she would become vice president. “We did it Joe,” Harris said, and she laughed. She is the first female vice president of the US, the first black person to hold office with Indo-Jamaican roots, a beacon of hope for many.

But she remained pale, could not set her own topics and is not very popular. In polls, their approval ratings are currently around 40 percent.

“Vice Presidents Go Under the Radar”

But that’s not because of Harris’ mistakes, says political scientist Michael Cornfield of George Washington University. Vice presidents have gone under the radar in the United States. It’s not his fault, it’s a vice president’s dilemma. Harris doesn’t look that bad compared to other VPs. He doesn’t get particularly good press, but he doesn’t get particularly bad press either, and other vice presidents have often been the butt of ridicule.

Harris isn’t mocked by the media, but the question keeps arising: where is Harris? She and she was almost constantly on the road during the Midterm campaign, endorsing Democratic candidates and speaking with students. But others have drawn attention: former President Barack Obama, for example, or former President Donald Trump.

Lots of themes, but nothing stands out

Harris also positioned himself in the discussion of the overturned abortion law and organized panel discussions. In an interview on NBC television, she called the Supreme Court activist and is concerned about the integrity of the court as a whole. But even that has received little attention.

Harris has been officially appointed by Biden to deal with the migration crisis and electoral reform. “It’s almost impossible to score points on these issues,” explains the politics professor. Harris is not in a good position if Biden decides not to run for a second term.

“Harris’s Time is Yet to Come”

Democrats didn’t hate them, they didn’t ignore them, Cornfield said. But Harris has nothing to brag about. Four other Democrats would have a significantly better chance: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Political scientist gives Michigan governor Gretchen Withmer the best chance. Her nickname is Big Gretch, his is a large number.

But it doesn’t cancel Harris. On the contrary, their time will come. Harris would be a top candidate for the Democrats—2028 or 2032. She still has time.
And if Biden were to run and win again in the next presidential election – the 58-year-old would remain vice president, the politics professor is convinced. Biden owes the 2020 election largely to black voters. “To erase Harris would be political suicide,” Cornfield said.