On Monday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “The Record,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said that “most Americans do not know what” 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris “stands for.” And agreed that she needs to answer difficult questions.
Host Greta Van Susteren asked, “What do you think is the better strategy for Vice President Harris, to say that this is a second term of the Biden administration, or to say that she’s her own man, as they say, she’s her own person with her own — deviate from what her boss’ policies were, what’s the better strategy?”
Phillips answered, “Oh, absolutely the latter. She has to introduce herself and her platform and her vision. And that is the grand opportunity, most Americans do not know what she stands for. Being the Vice President, based on American history, is not an easy task. It is not a place where you go to become prominent. You have to go to funerals and you’ve got to walk the company line. This is a chance for her to separate, in certain areas, from President Biden, elevate in other areas, and introduce what she believes to this country.”
He continued, “And I remind viewers, too, that our founders intended the presidency to be the executors, the executive branch, to implement the laws of the land, it is not to be the policy generators, that was entrusted to Congress. And I also hope, over the coming years and generations, that we return to competent, executive leadership that does so, runs our agencies well, encourages strong management, improves customer service, and operates in an effective and efficient value-based manner for American taxpayers. And I’d like to think that maybe this administration will elevate that need as well, because we’ve got a lot of work to do, Democrats and Republicans, if we want this country to remain the bastion of freedom, democracy, and world leadership that we all hold dear.”
Van Susteren then said, “Well, I certainly give her a pass until after the convention, as I do with Trump. But once this ends, she needs to answer some tough questions. We need to get to know her, what her policies are, because, we don’t really — as you said, we don’t really know her. But this is a week to celebrate for the party. We watched the Republicans celebrate, but when it’s over, we need press conferences.”
Phillips nodded along and agreed when Van Susteren said Harris “needs to answer some tough questions.”
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