Vice President Harris has a low favorability rating. Would Democrats back her if Biden doesn’t run?

Vice President Harris has a low favorability rating. Would Democrats back her if Biden doesn’t run?

Vice President Harris has a low favorability rating. Would Democrats back her if Biden doesn’t run?, As speculation about President Joe Biden’s viability in the presidential race grows, the president insists he’s in for the long haul. But if he did step aside, Democrats are signaling they’re ready to rally around his vice president, Kamala Harris.

The problem is, Harris is viewed by voters even less favorably than Biden or Donald Trump.

Since Biden stumbled badly in the June 27 debate with Trump, Harris has been in the spotlight as the most logical alternative.

She has consistently said she’s solidly behind Biden. “The President is and will remain our party’s nominee, and Vice President Harris is proud to be his running mate, and looks forward to serving at his side for four more years,” Brian Fallon, Harris’s campaign communications director, told The Bee.

Harris fared best with the public in January, 2021, just before being sworn into office, when 51% in the CNN-SRSS national poll of registered voters viewed her favorably. Biden was at 59%

Both numbers plunged as time went on. In the most recent survey, taken after the 81-year-old Biden’s troubled June 27 debate with Trump, the president was viewed favorably by 34% of registered voters and Harris by 29%. Trump was seen favorably by 39%.

“The very nature of the vice presidency presents a challenge in terms of connections with the public, and when you add in the intersection of Harris’s gender identity, multiracial background and California roots it seems a barrier to broad public acceptance is created,” said Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion in Pennsylvania.

He found that “these factors, along with her personal style, don’t easily mesh with many Americans’ comfort zone and Harris ultimately emerges with a classic likability problem.”

The Harris record

“I’m sure her past as a California attorney general and senator would come up in the campaign,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan political analysis firm.

Harris, 59, was San Francisco’s top prosecutor from 2004 to 2011. In 2010, she won the race to become attorney general, serving until 2017, when she was elected to the Senate.

As attorney general, she declared herself the state’s “top cop” during a talk at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. During her tenure, some of her actions were criticized by many in the state’s communities of color.

She opposed a 2004 state initiative to ease California’s minimum mandatory sentencing laws, though as a senator proposed a plan that would end minimum mandatory sentences.

Harris also stirred controversy in California when she didn’t back the 2015 bid to require all law enforcement officials to wear body cameras, though she had agents in her own department do so. She said local governments should decide if their employees should wear them.

Harris easily won a U.S. Senate seat in 2016, defeating Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez. She became an instant national figure, the first Indian-American in the Senate and the first Black woman to represent California as a senator.

She became a Democratic hero of sorts–and a big Republican target–when she sparred with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2017. Harris also became a leader in the bid to reform the nation’s criminal justice system, leading efforts to effect change after George Floyd died in Minneapolis in May 2020 while in police custody.

As vice president, Harris was tapped by Biden to lead an effort to help Central American countries where people were leaving for the U.S. But as undocumented immigrants continued to surge across the U.S.-Mexico border,Republicans blasted away at her, saying she was inept handling the crisis.

But many Senate Republicans supported tough bipartisan border security legislation earlier this year. The bill, which went nowhere after opposition from Trump and his supporters, was aimed at making it more difficult to cross the border and make it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum. Biden backed the bill.

Harris briefly ran for the 2020 presidential nomination, but her effort went nowhere. She was criticized for having murky positions on some issues, notably health care reform.

Vice presidential struggles

Rarely in modern times does a vice president who wants to move up get denied their party’s nomination. They’re often challenged within their own party–Walter Mondale in 1984, George H. W. Bush in 1988, Dan Quayle and Al Gore in 2000, Biden in 2020–but almost always prevail.

Economist/YouGov national polls show that during the Biden administration, 42% have had a favorable opinion of Harris, less than Biden’s 46%.

But that four point gap is comparable to the favorability ratings during President Barack Obama’s administration, when Biden was vice president. Obama’s favorability averaged 50% to Biden’s 46%.

During the Trump administration, Vice President Mike Pence averaged 39% favorability to Trump’s 41%.

There’s evidence that Democrats are ready to rally around Harris.

The KHive, a social media group of Harris backers, has been more active lately. And new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll showed that while Harris’ unfavorable ratings remain high, she’s gaining support from Democrats.

“Harris’ number has steadily improved,” since bottoming out in August 2022, said Carl Bialik, U.S. political editor at YouGov.

In last week’s poll, 31% of registered Democratic voters said they’d prefer Harris over California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was mentioned by 17%.

The CNN-SRSS national poll, taken June 28-30 after the debate, showed Harris trailing Trump, 47% to 45%. That was the smallest gap between Trump and any Democrat. Newsom was behind 48% to 43%.

Republican criticism

Republicans are eager for a Harris run.

“She can try but there’s a lot of videotape out there. We live in an age where you can go on the internet and find anything she said in public,” said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy in Florida.

With Biden floundering, Republicans are trying to define Harris as an unhinged liberal who has deceived voters about the president’s fitness for office.

“Every one of them (Biden supporters) has lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris.,” the Trump campaign said this week in a statement.

“Everything Kamala Harris touches turns into an unmitigated disaster. Whether extreme House Democrats call on Joe Biden to step aside or not, Kamala Harris deserves the blame for many of the crises making life unsafe and difficult for American families — and we plan to make her a prominent feature of the 2024 campaign,” said Will Reinert, national press secretary at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

In a digital ad released this week, the committee shows her giving a long-winded answer and ends with the statement “is this who we want to be president?”

There’s no easy answer.

Harris has recently been active in reminding voters about the 2023 Supreme Court decision restricting abortion rights.

And she’s steadfastly, unequivocally defending Biden. She was on TV the night of the debate with a strong show of support, telling CNN that while “It was a slow start. That’s obvious to everyone,” people should remember,“I’m talking about the choice for November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime.”

At a rally in Las Vegas the next day, she got more personal.

“I see Joe Biden when the cameras are on and when the cameras are off,” Harris said. “I see him in the Situation Room keeping our country safe. On the world stage, meeting with world leaders who often ask for his advice.”

She won’t talk about her own status. Earlier this week, in San Francisco, a CBS reporter asked about her future.

“I’m proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate,” Harris said.

Officers who defended the Capitol fight falsehoods about Jan. 6 and campaign for Joe Biden

Officers who defended the Capitol fight falsehoods about Jan. 6 and campaign for Joe Biden

Officers who defended the Capitol fight falsehoods about Jan. 6 and campaign for Joe Biden, Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is mostly recovered from the brutal assaults he endured from Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. But not completely. His shoulder still has limited endurance and there are screws and a metal plate holding his right foot together after bone fusion surgery.

Emotional recovery has been more difficult. Gonell struggled when he heard that former Trump visited Capitol Hill last month and received what he called a “hero’s welcome” from the Republican lawmakers Gonell had protected that day, and when Trump falsely told millions of viewers in last week’s debate that many of the violent rioters, his supporters, “were ushered in by the police.”

Trump’s Capitol Hill visit was a “triggering mechanism for my PTSD,” says Gonell, who retired from the force in 2022 due to his injuries and has recently participated in several campaign events for President Joe Biden. “We did what we had to do to keep those elected officials safe, and instead of siding with us, the officers, they have sided with a person who put their lives at risk.”

Three and a half years after the Capitol attack, Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen. He has promised that if he wins the presidency again he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the Capitol to try and overturn the legitimate results. To counter the misinformation, Gonell and two of his fellow officers who were there that day are working with Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to try and make sure that voters don’t forget.

“I’m a living primary source about an important day in American history,” says Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who became a recognizable face shortly after the attack when a video of him being crushed between two doors went viral. “So I try to make that count, and make it so that people hear the truth from someone who was there.”

Along with former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, Hodges and Gonell are telling audiences about what they went through that day and trying to lay out the contrast between Biden and Trump. It's an unusual transition for law enforcement officers who once protected members of Congress and are used to keeping their political views to themselves.

“I’m really an introvert, and I’m not someone to seek a microphone or an audience,” says Hodges, who testified along with Gonell and Dunn at the House Jan. 6 panel’s first hearing in 2021. “But I’m in this unique position where people will listen to what I say about an important issue. So I feel a moral obligation to do so.”

At recent events in Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, they stood with local officials and said that Trump is a danger to the country after trying to overturn Biden’s legitimate election.

“Three and a half years later, the fight for democracy still continues,” Dunn recently told a group of voters in Arizona, flanked by a handful of politically active Democratic veterans in Phoenix. “It still goes on. Donald Trump is still that threat. His deranged, self-centered, obsessive quest for power is the reason violent insurrectionists assaulted my coworkers and I.”

The officers have also aggressively pushed back on Trump’s comments at the debate, where he falsely said that there were a “relatively small” group of protesters and that the police let them enter the Capitol. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot, and police were bloodied and injured — some seriously — as they struggled to prevent more from getting in.

Dunn, who recently lost his own bid for a congressional seat in Maryland, said after the debate that Trump’s comments were “a slap in the face, but it’s what we have come to expect from Donald Trump.”

And the officers said they are still supporting Biden, even after he failed to push back on many of Trump’s false claims about Jan. 6 and received widespread criticism for his weak showing at the debate.

“He could have been a little more forceful, but I’ll take the person who doesn’t send a mob to kill me and my colleagues over the other person,” said Gonell, who published a book last year about his experience. “Every single day I’m reminded of that horrible day. Every time I put my shoes on, I see my scar.”

Gonell was caught in the worst of the fighting on the Capitol’s west front as Trump’s supporters protesting his defeat violently tried to push past him and his fellow officers. At one point he was pulled under the crowd and lost oxygen to the point that he thought he would die.

Hodges was nearby, trapped in the heavy golden doors in the center of the Capitol’s west front as rioters beat him bloody. A video of his guttural scream as he tried to escape went viral and was played at Democrats' impeachment trial in the weeks after the attack.

Dunn, who has said he was targeted with racial slurs by Trump’s supporters during the fighting, says it has been good to travel out of the Washington area, his hometown, and talk to people who may not be watching cable news every day as he campaigns for Biden. There’s a lot they don’t know about what happened on Jan. 6, he says.

“Being able to have somebody who was there bring firsthand experience and facts retelling the story, it’s very beneficial,” Dunn said,

The officers were widely praised after Jan. 6, but their criticism of Trump in recent years has made them less popular with some Republicans. When Gonell and Dunn visited the Pennsylvania legislature this spring, some Republicans booed them.

But they are unbowed by the criticism, and have continued to try and bring more attention to their stories. Gonell was outside the Supreme Court on Monday as the justices ruled on whether Trump has immunity for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election and criticized the justices for sending the federal case back to a lower court. The decision effectively ends any prospects that Trump could be tried before the November election.

On Friday, the court limited a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge some Capitol riot defendants.

“Every single time that the Supreme Court or any other court says that some of these people shouldn’t be held accountable, it’s a disgrace,” Gonell said.

5 Big Hollywood Donors No Longer Supporting Biden (And 5 Who Remain Silent)

5 Big Hollywood Donors No Longer Supporting Biden (And 5 Who Remain Silent)

5 Big Hollywood Donors No Longer Supporting Biden (And 5 Who Remain Silent), Hollywood’s top donors are increasingly recoiling from Joe Biden’s re-election campaign in the wake of last week’s debate disaster. Some of the president’s most steadfast and deep-pocketed supporters have publicly declared they’re withdrawing support following the president’s fragile and faltering face-off against Donald Trump, which has since been followed by a steady drip of reports detailing how the White House (and, to some extent, the media itself) has long covered up the true extent of the president’s cognitive struggles.

A couple donors are even taking the position that they’re halting support to all Democratic candidates to boost pressure on Biden to drop out of the race. After all, it’s not just the presidency at stake in November but down-ballot races for the House and Senate. The drama is perhaps unlike any in modern political history, with longtime ride-or-die party loyalists giving the president of the United States a “get out or else” ultimatum just four months before a high-stakes general election.

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Below are some of the key players who have reportedly and publicly renounced their support for the Biden campaign in the last week — plus some familiar celebrity supporters who have remained silent.

Reed Hastings The Netflix co-founder told The New York Times: “Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.” Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, have reportedly donated more than $20 million to support the Democratic party over the last few years.

Barry Diller The media mogul seeking to take control of Paramount replied with a simple “no” when asked by Ankler whether he and his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, were still supporting Biden. Diller reportedly gave $100,000 to the president and the Democratic Party’s super PAC in 2023.

Abigail Disney The millionaire Disney heiress and activist told CNBC she’s halting all donations to the Democratic party until they replace Biden on the ticket: “Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high. If Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose. Of that, I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”

Damon Lindelof The Lost and The Leftovers showrunner penned an essay for Deadline arguing that Democrats should halt all their financial support until Biden steps down. “I know what my eyes and my ears and my heart tell me. I’ve been asleep at the wheel and it’s time to wake the fuck up …I believe in Joe Biden. I believe in him so much that we wrote him a sizeable check as recently as two weeks ago. We had to considering his opponent …  I propose a DEMbargo. No checks written. No ActBlue links clicked. For anyone. … Is it misguided to punish the entire team for the stubbornness of the pitcher? Maybe. But it’s also common sense that if he stays in, they will also lose. A rising tide lifts all boats. A falling Biden sinks them. … When they text you asking for cash, text back that you’re not giving them a penny and you won’t change your mind until there’s change at the top of the ticket.”

Ari Emanuel Perhaps most colorfully, the Endeavor CEO and prolific Democratic donor blasted Biden and Democrats at the Aspen Ideas Festival. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Emanuel groused, “[Biden] said he was going to run for one term, and he’s doing it to restore democracy. He then runs for a second term — that’s the first bit of malarkey, as he would say. He and his cohorts have told us that he’s [been] healthy for over a year … The lifeblood to a campaign is money, and maybe the only way this gets [solved] is if the money starts drying up … I talked to a bunch of big donors, and they’re moving all their money to Congress and the Senate.” Emanuel later added, “We’re in fuck city!”

And here are a few notables who have largely remained silent since the debate (at least publicly — there are plenty with strong opinions on this subject who are, presumably, keeping their remarks private for now):

Jeffrey Katzenberg The mogul has taken a very active role in Biden fundraising (recently hosting an event which reportedly raised $30 million) and over the last year has both publicly and privately assured people the president was mentally up to the task of another four years. He told the Financial Times last year, “The president has shown that he’s 80 years young and brings with him the wisdom and knowledge and experience that he has shown during the past two years. He is fit and engaged and has a high level of energy.” He’s also been quoted as pushing back on doubters by claiming Biden’s age was his “superpower.”

Steven Spielberg The beloved Oscar winner has taken an active role in Biden’s re-election campaign, having recently helped the president with his D-Day anniversary speech on the cliffs at Normandy. Spielberg has also been working with the Democratic National Committee to help plan August’s convention.

Jimmy Kimmel In addition to tirelessly mocking Trump as the host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the comedian and talk show host participated in a fundraiser for Biden last month where he moderated a conversation between the current president and Barack Obama. Kimmel’s show currently has guest hosts, but he has weighed in on political matters on X in the past. He has yet to weigh in about Biden since the debate.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts Both A-list stars have been long aligned with Democratic party politics and fundraising efforts, and both have been actively helping support the Biden campaign. Just last month, Clooney penned a fundraising email urging donations to the Biden campaign, calling the 2024 election “a battle for the soul of our nation.” Another big Democratic donor at the event, Barbra Streisand, has been very vocal, blasting Trump, the moderators and the Supreme Court after the debate, but has otherwise supported the White House’s perspective: “Biden had a bad night. Enough of the Democratic panic.”