White House staffers are rushing to help Vice President Kamala Harris boost her low approval ratings following her and President Biden's newly-announced re-election campaign this week.
While neither Biden's nor Harris' approval ratings are above 50%, Harris has remained stagnant in the high 30s throughout the pair's time in office, while Biden has hovered around the low-to-mid 40s. Harris is likely to face more scrutiny than ever in the 2024 campaign given the president's age. He would be 82 on Inauguration Day 2025.
Senior Biden adviser Anita Dunn has tasked White House teams to schedule more events featuring Harris and promoting more popular aspects of the Democratic platform, according to Axios.
The first two years of Biden's presidency saw Harris tasked with the least popular and most difficult issues, such as reforming elections and handling the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Many reports have suggested that the Biden and Harris teams have struggled to work together since taking office in 2021. Harris has also been dogged by a revolving door of staffers, many of whom depart and complain of a toxic work environment.
Biden and Harris themselves also do not appear to be close. When Harris tested positive for COVID-19 in April 2022, Biden was not listed among her close contacts, meaning she had not seen the president in person in at least a week.
While Biden's team is doing what it can, neither candidate is particularly popular. Biden himself sits at just 44%, having recently recovered from a near-record low of 38% earlier this year.
KAMALA HARRIS MOCKED FOR REPEATING SEVERAL WORD SALADS DURING CLIMATE CRISIS TALK: ‘WTF IS HER DEAL’
Biden and Harris both share an unfortunate penchant for gaffes, with the executive branch heads frequently stumbling over their words in public appearances.
Harris's latest "word salad" came when she was speaking about abortion at her alma mater, Howard University, on Tuesday.
"So I think it's very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders for us at every moment in time and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past but the future," Harris said in video shared by the Republican National Committee and others on Twitter.
