MSNBC's Joy Reid complains Kamala Harris treated unfairly by 'White, male' media: People just don't 'know her'
Kamala Harris and President Biden have both griped about negative media coverage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC host Joy Reid sounded off over criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview over the weekend, saying she didn't get a fair shake because of the mostly "White, male" media.
In an interview with The Root, Reid claimed that the press didn't showcase the vice president's relatable "personality."
"Kamala Harris is like if your cousin became VP of the United States," she told the media outlet, after comparing Harris to former First Lady Michelle Obama.
"I think she doesn’t get to show that personality often enough, and so people haven’t had a chance to get to know her," she was quoted as saying.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC host Joy Ann-Reid made excuses for Vice President Kamala Harris still not visiting the U.S.-Mexico border on "The ReidOut" Tuesday night, admitting that it's an "unpopular opinion" as Harris continues to be lambasted for not having made the trip since being named the Biden administration's border czar. (Fox News)
Reid said Harris had the "toughest" issues to deal with aside from inflation and the war in Ukraine, before suggesting the vice president faced an unfair double standard.
"Most of the media is still White and male. And their take on Kamala Harris becomes the take. It becomes conventional wisdom," she told The Root. But Reid implied their shared race and gender allowed the pair to have a "real" conversation in a recent MSNBC interview.
A poll last fall showed Harris's approval fell to a historically low 28% approval rating.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harris is the first Black and Asian-American female in the top role. In a New York Times report, she allegedly told allies that "news coverage of her would be different if she were any of her 48 predecessors, all of whom were White and male."
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with members of the press before boarding Air Force Two at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Saturday, May 28, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ( (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky))
Other media outlets and figures have rushed to back up Harris’s claims, in similar ways that the media parroted presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s complaints about sexist media coverage.
Last December, Politico ran with unfounded claims from Democrats that the vice president was victim of a "coordinated campaign" by Hispanic radio stations in the state to tarnish her image.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Late-night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel and the hosts of ABC's "The View" have also blamed racism and sexism for Harris receiving scrutiny.
But conservatives have said that the vice president hasn't lived up to the job demands placed on her.
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last year, Harris took 90 days to visit the southern border, after being tasked to deal with a historic immigration crisis. Republican figures have also mocked the vice president as "perpetually unprepared" in her public remarks.
Harris has recently faced criticism from conservatives for heading a newly launched "task force to address online harassment and abuse," after the Biden administration’s similar "disinformation board" was dismantled due to growing outcry over free speech concerns.