Vice President Kamala Harris said she would be ready to take over the role of president if necessary.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” Harris told the Associated Press in Jakarta, Indonesia, replying to an interviwer’s question. “But let us also understand that every vice president — every vice president — understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.”
“I’m no different,” she added.
Harris claimed that Biden, 82, is “smart” and able to understand “complex” issues. He is able to deliver, she added, noting the administration’s record.
“I see him every day,” Harris said about Biden. “A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out.”
“And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers,” she said.
Harris’s comments come as 77 percent of Americans and 69 percent of Democrats believe Biden is too old to be elected for four more years, according to a recent Associated Press/NORC poll.
However, just 32 percent of registered voters view Harris favorably. Nearly a majority (49 percent) view Harris negatively, with 39 percent viewing her “very” negatively.
Harris, known for word salads, plunged to a record low net favorability for a vice president in June, according to an NBC News poll.
Harris received a net negative rating of -17. That is the lowest net negative rating for a vice president in the history of the poll. Previous vice presidents have had far better ratings: Mike Pence -4 in Oct. 2019, Joe Biden +1 in Dec. 2010, Dick Cheney +23 in May 2003, and Al Gore +15 in March 1995.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
