Staff Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris has taken to the White House stage with all the flair of a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. However, the trick she seems to be trying to pull off is distancing herself from President Biden while simultaneously soaking in the perks of incumbency. On Thursday, she met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and tried to flex her muscles at an event promoting new gun control measures, all while making a case for herself as the “change candidate.”
The irony is palpable. Harris recently embraced the Democratic nominee title, but trying to be seen as a new leader while she is acting out the role of an incumbent is a tall order, especially when Biden’s record on the economy and immigration hangs over her like an unwelcome cloud. She proclaimed a desire for “a new way forward” at the Democratic National Committee, but it’d be a little easier to believe if she wasn’t using the White House bully pulpit for her campaign.
Harris takes a turn at White House bully pulpit to amplify Ukraine, gun control messageshttps://t.co/e1heVlRCZf
— MnMsBabom (@JustBabom) September 27, 2024
As she basked in the presidential spotlight, it became clear that there’s a strategic play at work. The White House seems increasingly eager to highlight Harris’s involvement in international matters—a tactic meant to bolster her image. During her meeting with Zelenskyy, she went solo while Biden’s own meeting earlier that day barely registered in mainstream media. You could almost hear the snickers from the right at this political pantomime.
Critics have been quick to point out that Harris’s strategy is one of both opportunism and evasion. She has been accused of trying to shake off any connection to the Biden administration’s unpopular stances while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of being in the White House. A Republican strategist noted that she’s doing everything possible to separate herself from Biden and his less-than-stellar performance. It’s a classic case of wanting the icing on the cake without taking responsibility for the recipe.
On the issue of foreign policy, Harris jumped at the chance to dunk on former President Trump’s strategies and brandish her administration’s proposals as enlightened. She emphasized the supposed strategic importance of backing Ukraine over surrendering to Russian aggression, aligning herself with what seems to be a desperate hope to portray Trump’s approach as dangerously naive. However, the real question on everyone’s mind is whether voters will buy this sudden pivot towards hawkishness when they’ve seen the same old so-called “solutions” from the current administration lead only to soaring inflation and a general state of chaos.
While Harris might believe she can pull the wool over voters’ eyes, the polls suggest otherwise. A recent Fox News survey indicates that more voters trust Trump on economic issues than they do her, a tough pill for a candidate trying to redefine herself as forward-thinking. Even amidst her campaign efforts, a notable percentage of voters continue to associate her policies with Biden’s, which could leave her working extra hard to prove she is not just a mere continuation of a failing playbook.
In an ironic twist of fate, despite her best efforts, Kamala Harris could very well be a living, breathing testament to what happens when a politician wants to be seen as a fresh face while carrying the baggage of a sucked-dry administration. One has to wonder if she can outmaneuver her own history to win over skeptical voters—or if she’s going to be left holding the bag while hoping nobody remembers the economic mayhem under Biden’s watch.
