US 2024: Inside Biden’s strategy to repair Harris’ image
Top White House officials are rushing to the aid of Vice President Kamala Harris to try to shore up her underwhelming poll numbers ahead of 2024.
Biden, 80, is facing his own popularity issues, too, because of his age.
White House officials are helping Harris to improve her “underwhelming poll numbers.”
Harris, who has not had a communications director since January, has faced public scrutiny after she fumbled answers in some interviews during her tenure.
“Harris’ allies point out she has faced sexism and racism, and argue that the White House has not helped her enough,” according to the article.
Harris spokesperson Kirsten Allen said in the article that work is underway and “our teams have been focused on lifting up the priorities of President Biden and Vice President Harris as they build a future where every person in our nation can thrive, and will continue to remain focused on this work together.”
Why it matters: In Biden’s run for president, he is communicating to the public that he and Harris are in lockstep in their moves as a united front. Harris’ image is heavily featured on his website and in his campaign announcement commercial, reminding America of who their leaders are and could be. Also, West Wing leaders are putting Harris in front of big topics for Democrats like “infrastructure spending and abortion rights” according to the article.
Putting Harris at the forefront of these issues and keeping her in the minds of Americans could bolster her image in the long run as officials attempt to downplay her gaffes. We’ll see if the efforts to boost Harris and Biden’s image in time for the upcoming election were well worth it.
Why it matters: Harris’ numbers are even worse than President Biden’s (approval in the high 30%s versus low 40%s). Officials believe that could make her a drag on the ticket as Biden begins a reelection campaign that likely will boil down to a few tight states.
What’s happening: There’s zero chance Biden will replace her on the ticket — doing so would be an admission that he botched the most important decision he made as a candidate. So the White House and campaign team are working to give Harris a boost — which her allies feel is long overdue.
Biden’s campaign announcement video featured shot after shot of the president and Harris together, as well as her meeting solo with voters.
She’s also featured prominently with Biden on the homepage of Biden’s revamped website.
Anita Dunn, one of the most powerful West Wing officials, recently directed the White House political and engagement teams to help schedule events with Harris promoting popular Democratic causes such as infrastructure spending and abortion rights.
The backstory: This is a huge shift from much of Biden’s first two years, when there was mutual distrust and anonymous sniping between the vice president’s team and the West Wing.
Between the lines: Harris, initially saddled by Biden with no-win issues such as immigration and a stalled voting-rights bill, has frustrated many of his top aides. She has suffered frequent staff turnover, and rarely has been entrusted with high-profile assignments.
who took over the post a year ago.
Voles, trying to improve the office’s culture, had everyone take the Myers-Briggs personality test, then compare their personality profiles, according to two people familiar with the moves.
Some in the office rolled their eyes at Voles’ efforts. But others liked it, with one person comparing her to the gushy Ted Lasso character on the Apple TV show.
Harris hasn’t had a communications director since Jamal Simmons left in January. Her office did pitch veteran Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri about the post, but she demurred. Palmieri declined to comment.
Source: Axios
