Conservative political analyst Jonah Goldberg recently appeared on CNN, explaining to Chris Wallace that Vice President Kamala Harris was President Biden’s “worst political decision of his presidency.” Wallace introduced the topic, pointing out to Goldberg that recent research suggests that crucial swing state voters have a negative view of Kamala Harris. The host asked Goldberg to opine how this would affect Biden’s reelection prospects.
“Recent focus groups conducted by the super PAC Republican Voters Against Trump found that swing voters don’t like Harris,” said Wallace. “And focus groups conducted by the Democratic National Committee also found Harris rubs some people the wrong way. So, Jonah, how big a drag is Kamala Harris on the ticket?”
Goldberg claimed the decision was a “big drag” on Biden’s campaign. “I think she’s a pretty big drag. I think she was arguably Biden’s worst political decision of his presidency to pick her in the first place,” the conservative journalist responded.
Goldberg further added that many are concerned about 81-year-old Biden’s age and whether he is physically and mentally fit to perform his job. Therefore, this scenario makes the vice president a critical position. Moreover, he claimed that Kamala Harris can only effectively communicate to a minority of liberal voters.
“And, one of the special reasons that she’s a drag is, Biden’s age concerns people. They worry that he can’t fill a term. They worry that he’s not up to the job. And, so, the vice president matters more than they normally do. I generally think going into the future that Democrats really should not nominate or front people who come from decidedly all-blue states unless they’re, like, once-in-a-generation talents, like Barack Obama. Because Kamala Harris does not know how to talk to the center or to the right. She only really knows how to speak the language of the base of the party. And that’s 34% of the electorate,” he said.
Another panel member in the segment, Kara Swisher, stated that Harris’ lack of favorability doesn’t matter because she will not be replaced. She said, “And they don’t like her. There’s lots of reasons they don’t like her, and I don’t think the vice president matters as much as people think. I don’t think they think about her unless…”
However, Wallace jumped in, asserting that public opinion of Vice President Harris could be important, given Biden’s elderly age. “With an 82-year old president, it might matter more,” he said. Swisher responded, arguing that opinion surrounding Harris still isn’t as crucial as some think.
“Yes, I get that. I get that, but, right now, I don’t think that’s the first thing they think about is her, necessarily. I just think they’ve not like her, she’s had a successful vice presidency, although I don’t know what that means at all, because I don’t think people thought or Mike Pence very well or Dan Quayle, or anybody else. And, so, it doesn’t matter because she’s not going anywhere, he’s not going to replace her. Think about that. Think about the earthquake that would cause,” Swisher said.
"*" indicates required fields