Report: Democrats Have ‘Lost Hope’ in Vice President Kamala Harris

Many Democrats are beginning to see Vice President Kamala Harris’s presence on a 2024 presidential ticket as a liability, with some admitting they have “lost hope” in her, according to a New York Times report.

Although President Joe Biden has not officially announced his reelection candidacy, he has consistently spoken about his intent to run for president again. However, pundits and voters would likely increase their focus on Harris, who would be vice president to an 82-year-old Joe Biden at the start of a second term. 

As the Times reported: 

But the painful reality for Ms. Harris is that in private conversations over the last few months, dozens of Democrats in the White House, on Capitol Hill and around the nation — including some who helped put her on the party’s 2020 ticket — said she had not risen to the challenge of proving herself as a future leader of the party, much less the country. Even some Democrats whom her own advisers referred reporters to for supportive quotes confided privately that they had lost hope in her.

Most of the Democrats whom the Times spoke with, maintaining anonymity to “avoid alienating the White House,” told the outlet they do not think Harris has what it takes to win the presidency in 2024. 

The New York Times report came days after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) refused to answer if she wants to see Harris join the Biden ticket in 2024.

“Yes, he should run again,” Warren said of Biden. However, when speaking on Harris, Warren said, “I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team.”

The Times report also revealed that Hillary Clinton privately thinks Harris lacks the “political instincts” to clear a Democrat primary filed, a claim that Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill denied. 

“They have built and maintained a strong bond. Any other characterization is patently false,” Merrill said of Clinton and Harris’s relationship.

Still, some Democrats are reportedly eying a way to kick Harris off the ’24 ticket “without inflaming key Democratic constituencies that would take offense.”

Prominent Democrat fundraiser John Morgan said Harris’s presence on a presidential ticket with an aging Biden would be “one of the most hard-hitting arguments” against the president. 

“It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘Look, with his age, we have to really think about this,’” Morgan said. 

Morgan also criticized Harris for not distinguishing herself in her role as vice president. 

“I can’t think of one thing she’s done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies,” Morgan added.

The Times’ report comes amid Harris polling lower Biden when it comes to approval ratings. While Biden’s approval rating sits at 42 percent, Harris is polling even lower at 39 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The frustration apparently got to Harris at one point, as she reportedly rewrote an entire speech just one hour before a speaking event in Chicago during the summer. The rewrite occurred because Harris told her staff that she “wanted to say something more significant, more direct,” according to the Times. 

The report also revealed that Harris went through nine drafts of her recent speech in Florida where she commemorated the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade.

Harris’s office has been the source of controversy and high turnovers throughout the first two years of the Biden-Harris administration. Harris has lost several of her top aides, including some who have been on her staff since her days in the U.S. Senate. 

On top of the staff turnovers, there have been reports that her staff endured a “constant fear of backstabbing,” or they felt “treated like shit.”

However, Harris’s press secretary Kirsten Allen disputed the Times report on Monday, saying, “there’s no shortage of people willing to throw shade anonymously and seemingly no shortage of publications willing to write it up and recycle beltway gossip.”

“Those still questioning the VP’s role and impact are choosing not to see what is right in front of them,” Allen added.

There’s no shortage of people willing to throw shade anonymously and seemingly no shortage of publications willing to write it up and recycle beltway gossip. Those still questioning the VP’s role and impact are choosing not to see what is right in front of them.

— Kirsten Allen (@KirstenAllen46) February 6, 2023

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.