Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) shared her thoughts on the perception of Vice President Kamala Harris among Americans in a conversation with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. Now an MSNBC analyst, the former congresswoman expressed her concern about the negative sentiments surrounding Harris and questioned why she hasn’t received the recognition she deserves.
“Why is America down on her to the extent they are? Because she’s done nothing to deserve this,” she stated.
McCaskill went on to recall moments from her Senate days when Joe Biden served as vice president, admitting that there were times when senators would share a chuckle over Biden’s remarks.
Claire McCaskill recalls her, other Senators 'laughing sometimes at Joe Biden' when he was VP https://t.co/ZmBkeau1uO
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“I remember us laughing sometimes at Joe Biden when he was vice president in the cloak room of the Senate. I mean I wasn’t laughing, sorry, Mr. President, but other people were kind of making fun of him. Al Gore, same thing. Dan Quayle, same thing,” she revealed.
Turning her attention to Harris, McCaskill questioned why Americans view her as “a problem instead of an asset.”
As she put it: “Vice presidents have a tough job. But why is America so convinced? I mean, this is a woman of great accomplishment… Why is this Kamala Harris a problem instead of an asset?” she asked Ignatius.”
McCaskill then engaged Ignatius in a discussion about his lack of confidence in Biden and Harris’s potential candidacy in 2024. Ignatius had recently stirred controversy with a column suggesting that neither Biden nor Harris should run for re-election.
Ignatius compared Harris’s current situation to her run for the Democratic nomination in 2020, noting that he expected her to perform better. Despite high hopes, Harris eventually dropped out of the race before the Iowa caucuses.
Ignatius confessed his confusion about why Harris didn’t gain more traction with the public and Democratic voters during her campaign, and he expressed concern that similar challenges were affecting her role as vice president.
While he acknowledged that he would like to see Harris gain more “traction” with voters and become a “plausible” leader, particularly given concerns about Biden’s age, he emphasized that he didn’t know many political observers who believed she had accomplished that goal yet.
In his column for the Washington Post, Ignatius argued against both Biden and Harris running in 2024. He explained that due to concerns about Biden’s age, voters would naturally focus on Harris as the presumptive running mate. Ignatius noted that Harris’s popularity ratings were lower than Biden’s, adding to the uncertainty surrounding her candidacy.
Additionally, Ignatius raised concerns about Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his controversial business dealings. He criticized the president for not preventing Hunter from taking positions with a Ukrainian gas company and representing companies in China.
Echoing the thoughts of many on the right, Ignatius suggested that the president should have resisted Hunter’s attempts to leverage his father’s position.