VP Kamala Harris raises eyebrows with 'passage of time' remarks
The 'Fox & Friends' co-hosts discussed the latest speech from the vice president after she repeated the phrase 'passage of time' in Louisiana.
A Washington Post staff writer ranking the potential 2024 Democratic presidential contenders has dropped Vice President Kamala Harris down to third place behind President Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Harris, writer Aaron Blake wrote, was previously the top-ranked alternative to Biden if he didn't run, but he dropped her a spot because she had failed to put her role to "good use" and consistently faltered in delivering the White House's messaging. Blake had previously listed all non-Biden Democrats as possible contenders but added Biden to the new ranking list, which featured Buttigieg one spot ahead of Harris.
"We’re dropping Harris down a slot this time," Blake wrote. "Being vice president is certainly a good launchpad, but it’s not at all clear Harris has put it to good use. Her numbers are similar to Biden’s, and she’s done little to change the perceptions that harmed her 2020 campaign, including on her ability to drive a message. There’s also no way she would run against Biden if he does run (while others might have seen wiggle room on that). On the plus side, Biden has committed to her being his running mate again."
KAMALA HARRIS RIPPED AS ‘PERPETUALLY UNPREPARED’ AFTER PRESSER IN MUNICH
Vice President Kamala Harris has seen an alarming mass exodus of staff members. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Critics have hit Harris for a series of blunders and gaffes in her first year as VP, which often seemed to overshadow her efforts. Many have highlighted Harris's habit of laughter in response to difficult questions or moments, such as at press gaggles and sit-down interviews. In the most infamous example, Harris laughed at NBC's Lester Holt last year for asking why she still had not visited the southern border since President Biden tapped her as border czar.
"I – and I haven't been to Europe," Harris said, chuckling. "And I mean, I don’t – I don't understand the point that you're making," adding "I'm not discounting the importance of the border."
Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo with students at Thomas Elementary School in Washington, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
KAMALA HARRIS SLAMMED FOR ‘CRINGE’ RESPONSE TO BORDER QUESTIONS: ‘NOT A JOKE TO LAUGH AT’
In a recent speech, Harris was again mocked for repeating the phrase "passage of time" four times in under a minute.
"We were all doing a tour of the library here and talking about the significance of the passage of time right," she said in Sunset, La., where she addressed bringing high-speed broadband internet to communities. "The significance of the passage of time, so when you think about it there is great significance to passage of time. There is such great significance to the passage of time when you think of a day in the life of our children."
Observers have also ripped her as "perpetually unprepared" and uttering "word salad" during significant overseas press conferences. Iuliia Mendel, former press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, found Harris's presser in Munich during the Russian invasion of Ukraine so uninspiring that she said it would be a "tragedy" if she one day became U.S. president.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks and President Biden signs an Executive Order on Project Labor Agreements, which will improve timeliness, lower costs and increase quality in federal construction projects in Upper Marlboro, MD at Ironworkers Local 5 on Feb. 4, 2022. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Blake put Buttigieg second in his list of 2024 contenders partly because he'd be entering 2024 "with more heft as a Cabinet secretary." Blake noted Buttigieg did not surpass Harris "with any great conviction on our part."
Despite consistently low approval ratings, Biden claimed the No. 1 spot as the incumbent and his stated intention to seek re-election. Blake argued that Biden's current woes may wane after the 2022 midterms, and that a Republican takeover of Congress could serve as a political boost, since he would have "something to run against."
Rounding out the rest of the top ten were Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, D., Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
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