Kamala Harris Laments DC ‘Bubble’ Prevents Her From 'Staying in Touch' With People’s Needs
12:46 GMT 25.12.2021 (Updated: 12:47 GMT 25.12.2021)
© REUTERS / KEVIN LAMARQUE
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From a staff exodus over a reportedly “toxic and dysfunctional” work environment in the Vice President’s team to criticism over scant progress in addressing the thorny issue of the US border crisis, Kamala Harris has seen her personal approval ratings plummetl,.
Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed that her “biggest concern” is finding herself in a “bubble” when it comes to being in touch with people’s needs. Harris, interviewed by CBS’ Margaret Brennan for Sunday’s edition of “Face The Nation”, also regretted not being able to travel more outside Washington DC due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“What do you think your biggest failure has been at this point?” the show’s host asked the VP.
“To not get out of DC more,” responded Harris, whose own approval rating has slipped to 28 percent in recent polls, below President Joe Biden’s own low ratings.
.@VP Harris admits that her biggest failure is not leaving DC more due to COVID: “My biggest concern is I don't ever want to be in a bubble when it comes to being aware of and in touch with what people need at any given moment.”
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 24, 2021
More of @margbrennan’s exclusive interview, Sunday pic.twitter.com/8nH0ByAs7v
The VP prided herself on having forged a strong relationship with Biden, working “for hours on end doing Zooms or whatever” in the same room amid the pandemic-induced restrictions. She added, however, that she had concerns of living in a “bubble”.
“The president and I came in, you know, COVID had already started. It was — the pandemic had started. And when we came in, we really couldn’t travel, you know. A large part of the relationship that he and I have built has been being together in the same office for hours on end doing Zooms or whatever because we couldn’t get out of DC,” said Harris.
The Vice President insisted that it was “critically important” to listen to people who are directly impacted by the issues she feels strongly about and has been “fighting” for, such as voting rights, childcare and maternal health.
“People have a right to know and believe that their government actually sees and hears them. And my biggest concern is I don’t ever want to be in a bubble when it comes to being aware of and in touch with what people need at any given moment in time,” insisted Kamala Harris.
The pre-recorded interview comes as part of a year-end media blitz by the Vice President, who recently told The Wall Street Journal that she and Biden had never discussed running together again in 2024.
“I don’t think about it, nor have we talked about it,’ she stated.
This has come as White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified at a press briefing that Biden would be running with Harris in 2024.
Kamala Harris also got into a heated exchange with Charlamagne Tha God on 17 December after he asked her, pointblank, who the nation's "real" president was, “Joe Biden, or Joe Manchin?" on his Comedy Central show.
Harris aide briefly interjects as @cthagod asks @VP to name the “real president … is it Joe Manchin or Joe Biden?” pic.twitter.com/FRkIyxjRuP
— Katherine Doyle (@katiadoyl) December 18, 2021
The host of "Tha God’s Honest Truth" had weighed in on the fact that West Virginia moderate Democrat Joe Manchin was "holding up progress" on President Biden’s sweeping spending legislation being debated on Capitol Hill.
This has come as the 79-year old POTUS, whose no stranger to slip-ups and blunders, has on occasion raised eyebrows by referring to VP Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’ amid speculations about how fit he is to lead the nation.
'Wrong Joe in the WH': Tweeps Wince as VP Harris Snaps at Charlamagne For Asking Who 'Real' POTUS Is
18 December 2021, 13:30 GMT
Harris herself has been in the press crosshairs over reports of staff, such as long-time aide Symone Sanders and communications director Ashley Etienne, quitting her team due to her “soul-destroying” management style.
Harris has been under fire from critics for her decision to procrastinate for months with a much-needed visit to the US-Mexico border after President Biden tapped her as the border czar to address the “root causes” of the migrant crisis. However, when she did go, she chose to confine herself to places that were least affected by the surging number of migrants, fumed the Republicans.
