US Vice President Kamala Harris recently revealed she feels as though she's faced much more scrutiny from the media than any of the past individuals who served in her post, admitting that regardless of the negative publicity, she won't be the one to cower.
“That’s just what has happened,” Harris, the first Black and female vice president in US history, said. "It’s what it is."
“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, you know, it’s not fair,’ because I am not new to these things.’”
Harris made the remarks as part of a larger interview touching on her poll numbers and the road to 2024 as Democrats and Republics for presidential runoffs. The vice president has acknowledged that she's already become a target for some GOP candidates gunning for the Oval Office.
“I’m not going to be distracted from my priority around maternal health. I’m not going to be distracted [from] my long-standing commitment to support small businesses knowing that so many, especially minorities and women, don’t have access to capital,” Harris said in the interview.
Insiders say Harris’ role as an abortion rights advocate will work well for her in the next election whereas many anti-abortion Republicans might find few voters are willing to stand on their side of the issue, as well as the conservative-stacked Supreme Court responsible for dismantling federal abortion rights.
“I’m not going to be distracted from an issue like traveling the country because the highest court of our land just took a constitutional right. Otherwise, that stuff will get in your head and debilitate you.”
Former White House Ron Klain is also confident that the election cycle could shift more positive views into Harris’ court, as she begins campaigning.
"I always believed that when we got into the election cycle, she would be more visible and get more praise because she's a very good campaigner," Klain explained.
But for now, Harris’ grin and bear it attitude may be what is landing her polls in the deep-end. In fact, some polls have designated Harris as the most unpopular vice president in recent history, including past vice presidents Dick Cheney (R) and Al Gore (D), who both experienced vast unpopularity.
Defenders say the negative feedback is due to an ingrained bias surrounding the vice president’s race and gender.
A recent study has shown that women of color who become political candidates are twice as likely as other candidates to be the subject of harassment and disinformation. “[It] shouldn't surprise anyone that there is going to be a different filter and a different focus put on the first woman to ever be vice president of the United States, particularly a woman of color," a Democratic strategist said, explaining Harris’ disastrous June polling.