Kamala Harris is one of the worst people ever to attain national office, and since this seems to be the week that the mainstream press is turning on her, it seems like a great time to start a megathread.
Last edited:
Kamala Harris Megathread - Let's hear it for our lovely and gracious Vice President!
- Thread starter KiwiFuzz
- Start date
-
🏰 The Fediverse is up. If you know, you know.
-
Want to keep track of this thread?
Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
Create account
Kamala Harris is one of the worst people ever to attain national office, and since this seems to be the week that the mainstream press is turning on her, it seems like a great time to start a megathread.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2020
This got posted a minute ago on A&N
Title: Kamala Harris urged AMLO not to interfere in the work of NGOs
Title: Kamala Harris urged AMLO not to interfere in the work of NGOs
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2018
It's about time we get a thread about President Harr- I mean Vice president Harris of course.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2020
Article: https://www.newsweek.com/laura-ingr...ing-signs-cracking-over-border-crisis-1600058
Archive: https://archive.is/I6Y5u
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura Ingraham Says Kamala Harris 'Showing Signs of Cracking' Over Border Crisis
Fox News' Laura Ingraham believes Vice President Kamala Harris may be "cracking" as a result of the ongoing issues at the U.S.-Mexico border amid recent criticisms of her approach.
Ingraham, host of The Ingraham Angle, told her viewers that White House may now be regretting having Harris as vice president and discussed the Democrat's recent visit to Guatemala and Mexico.
Speaking at a press conference in Guatemala on Monday, Harris told potential migrants that the U.S. would enforce its laws and border and told those considering making the journey: "Do not come. Do not come."
"The real action this week was not with POTUS but with V-POTUS," Ingraham said on Friday.
"Kamala Harris has finally run into the buzz saw that she's probably been avoiding her entire life. It's called reality, as in having to answer serious questions about a real, real problem, the border crisis, which Biden foisted on her to address, but instead, it's just become a mess.
"And by the way, Harris is showing signs of cracking," Ingraham added.
Ingraham highlighted Harris' campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Then a senator for California, she clashed with then former Vice President Joe Biden in debates but dropped out of the race on December 3, 2019.
"The fact is, everyone is starting to see what Democrat primary voters knew about Kamala Harris in 2019," Ingraham said. "She's just not a prime-time player. She has no relevant experience, and she's totally in over her head."
Ingraham also criticized Harris' comments about immigration during her recent three-day trip to Guatemala and Mexico. Harris had previously faced criticism for her remarks from Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
"I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come," the vice president said Monday in a press conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.
Ingraham responded to Harris' comments, saying: "That sort of glib, bromide-laden series of generalities it may work, you might be able to slide by in the U.S. Senate, but it doesn't work when you're on the world stage and charged with handling serious issues."
Ingraham suggested President Joe Biden and the administration may have "a growing case of buyers' remorse" over picking Harris following reports that the White House wasn't happy with the way the vice president answered a question about not yet visiting the southern border.
"If the woman gets prickly when asked a simple, obvious question, how the heck is she going to do when she sits across the table from her, let's say, her Chinese or Russian counterparts?" Ingraham said.
In an interview on Tuesday with NBC's Lester Holt, Harris responded to Holt saying she hadn't been to the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans have criticized Harris for not visiting.
"And I haven't been to Europe," Harris said. "And I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making. I'm not discounting the importance of the border."
Newsweek has asked the White House for comment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>White House may now be regretting having Harris as vice president
TOP-FUCKING-KEK!!!
Archive: https://archive.is/I6Y5u
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura Ingraham Says Kamala Harris 'Showing Signs of Cracking' Over Border Crisis
Fox News' Laura Ingraham believes Vice President Kamala Harris may be "cracking" as a result of the ongoing issues at the U.S.-Mexico border amid recent criticisms of her approach.
Ingraham, host of The Ingraham Angle, told her viewers that White House may now be regretting having Harris as vice president and discussed the Democrat's recent visit to Guatemala and Mexico.
Speaking at a press conference in Guatemala on Monday, Harris told potential migrants that the U.S. would enforce its laws and border and told those considering making the journey: "Do not come. Do not come."
"The real action this week was not with POTUS but with V-POTUS," Ingraham said on Friday.
"Kamala Harris has finally run into the buzz saw that she's probably been avoiding her entire life. It's called reality, as in having to answer serious questions about a real, real problem, the border crisis, which Biden foisted on her to address, but instead, it's just become a mess.
"And by the way, Harris is showing signs of cracking," Ingraham added.
Ingraham highlighted Harris' campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Then a senator for California, she clashed with then former Vice President Joe Biden in debates but dropped out of the race on December 3, 2019.
"The fact is, everyone is starting to see what Democrat primary voters knew about Kamala Harris in 2019," Ingraham said. "She's just not a prime-time player. She has no relevant experience, and she's totally in over her head."
Ingraham also criticized Harris' comments about immigration during her recent three-day trip to Guatemala and Mexico. Harris had previously faced criticism for her remarks from Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
"I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come," the vice president said Monday in a press conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.
Ingraham responded to Harris' comments, saying: "That sort of glib, bromide-laden series of generalities it may work, you might be able to slide by in the U.S. Senate, but it doesn't work when you're on the world stage and charged with handling serious issues."
Ingraham suggested President Joe Biden and the administration may have "a growing case of buyers' remorse" over picking Harris following reports that the White House wasn't happy with the way the vice president answered a question about not yet visiting the southern border.
"If the woman gets prickly when asked a simple, obvious question, how the heck is she going to do when she sits across the table from her, let's say, her Chinese or Russian counterparts?" Ingraham said.
In an interview on Tuesday with NBC's Lester Holt, Harris responded to Holt saying she hadn't been to the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans have criticized Harris for not visiting.
"And I haven't been to Europe," Harris said. "And I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making. I'm not discounting the importance of the border."
Newsweek has asked the White House for comment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>White House may now be regretting having Harris as vice president
TOP-FUCKING-KEK!!!
Billy Beer
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2021
Can a VP be sacked?
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2019
Yes but we need to catch them in an act of treason, bribery or something else.
In other words she's not gonna be leaving any time soon
Billy Beer
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2021
So biden can't just say "you're fired"? There has to be a reason?
Wargarbl
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2016
Probably, but they won't unless she does something so utterly embarrassing or illegal that even the lugenpresse pressures them to do it.
Being an incompetent fucking joke of a politician is a hallmark of the VP office. Dan Quayle, Al Gore, Joe Biden; all great examples of smoothbrained fucking idiots sitting a coronary away from the big chair. So imagine my distaste for 2020, and the fact a guy that never had any business being president is making his current VP look way out of her depth.
Billy Beer
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2021
What are you guys doing over there?
Biden and Kamala did not get in power because a group of people who didn't like mean tweets voted against Trump. What are the reddit-fags as a % of American voters?
Which means, non-reddit people voted for a corpse.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2019
Wargarbl
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2016
What does Reddit have to do with KF? I've never even had an account there. This is confusing.
Let me be clear with you: I didn't vote for Biden and I think he was stupid & ineffective long before dementia set in and really dumpstered him. And he still looks more together and competent than the useless beige bitch he put 2nd in command.
e: clarity on my Biden opinion
Last edited:
Billy Beer
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2021
More of a generalised statement. Maybe swap reddit with Social Media or Internet dwellers. They make up most of the OMB TDS that i see/hear.
did anyone? We will never find out. Because people who were shy at saying "i'm voting Trump" before the election, sure as shit aren't going to say "I voted Trump" after he lost.
- Joined
- May 6, 2020
I can't wait until she offers to give Putin an old-fashioned.
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2018
VPs have been dumped before but it usually happens when the President is going for re-election. See John Nance Garner to FDR because he was too much of a dixiecrat or Henry Wallace to FDR who went too far the other way and was too much of a Soviet-loving progressive. Closest you get is Spiro Agnew resigning for corruption charges. @Wargarbl is right that it won't happen unless the media really turns on Kamala at which point some of the shady shit she likely did as a prosecutor and then AG will get blared from the rooftops.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2019
They have to be impeached, same as the president, since they're an elected official.
- Joined
- May 18, 2020
The scary thing is, I think it is the attempted toned down version. She seemed almost weak during her appearance from guatemala, could be that they've told her to tone down the obnoxious lecturing black mammy schtick for now.I've got to give Kamala some credit. It's very candid of her to not make any attempt to hide what a narcissistic sociopath she is...
...or is she trying and this is the toned down version?
A lot of horrible things can be said about Vladimir Putin. I hope for the sake of his soul that one of those things isn't that he would accept it.
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2020
I don't want Kamala to be president, but if a market crash is truly inevitable, then it should happen under a Biden or Harris presidency.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2020
Secret Service Agents loosing their shit over Kamala doing whatever she wants to do
Article: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ka...appy-about-vps-pride-walk-twitter-users-react
Archive: https://archive.is/ESBfM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at the Pride event in Washington on Saturday but it was one of her protectors who drew the attention of many Twitter users.
Any time a president or vice president mingles with the public becomes a challenge for those charged with guarding them – simply because the situation is less under security’s control.
Much of the Twitter attention was directed at a Secret Service agent near the vice president, a tall man in sunglasses who was seen behind Harris in photos and videos as she traversed the parade area.
"secret service clearly not happy about protectee going for a walk," lawyer George Conway wrote on Twitter.
Conway was responding to a video clip that shows Harris addressing a crowd at an intersection as the Secret Service agent scanned the scene around her.
"this kind of spontaneous public engagement (especially in a crowd that size) is anxiety inducing for the agents," another observed, in response to a video showing Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff surrounded by marchers. (Several men around them gave the appearance of being Secret Service agents as they turned their heads left and right while other people marched forward.)
Others on Twitter made more lighthearted remarks.
"This secret service agent is all of us trying to remember how to socialize after a year of Zoom and quarantine," one observer wrote.
Some noticed the casual attire of the agents.
"The secret service ‘blending’ outfits have me (laughing emoji)," one person wrote.
"By far the best part of this is that the secret service officer thought a bowling shirt was the default pride parade outfit," another wrote.
---tweet unavailable.... could have went private or got deleted---
Others seemed to recognize the difficult job that Secret Service agents do.
"Appreciation post to the secret service guy who was ALWAYS by @VP’s side," one Twitter user wrote.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ka...appy-about-vps-pride-walk-twitter-users-react
Archive: https://archive.is/ESBfM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at the Pride event in Washington on Saturday but it was one of her protectors who drew the attention of many Twitter users.
Any time a president or vice president mingles with the public becomes a challenge for those charged with guarding them – simply because the situation is less under security’s control.
Much of the Twitter attention was directed at a Secret Service agent near the vice president, a tall man in sunglasses who was seen behind Harris in photos and videos as she traversed the parade area.
"secret service clearly not happy about protectee going for a walk," lawyer George Conway wrote on Twitter.
Conway was responding to a video clip that shows Harris addressing a crowd at an intersection as the Secret Service agent scanned the scene around her.
"this kind of spontaneous public engagement (especially in a crowd that size) is anxiety inducing for the agents," another observed, in response to a video showing Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff surrounded by marchers. (Several men around them gave the appearance of being Secret Service agents as they turned their heads left and right while other people marched forward.)
Others on Twitter made more lighthearted remarks.
"This secret service agent is all of us trying to remember how to socialize after a year of Zoom and quarantine," one observer wrote.
Some noticed the casual attire of the agents.
"The secret service ‘blending’ outfits have me (laughing emoji)," one person wrote.
"By far the best part of this is that the secret service officer thought a bowling shirt was the default pride parade outfit," another wrote.
---tweet unavailable.... could have went private or got deleted---
Others seemed to recognize the difficult job that Secret Service agents do.
"Appreciation post to the secret service guy who was ALWAYS by @VP’s side," one Twitter user wrote.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2019
'Her instinct is to dig in': Kamala Harris' struggles to answer border question seen as part of a pattern
Several allies and former aides to Vice President Kamala Harris had "flashbacks" last week as they watched her fumble a politically sensitive question during her first foreign trip, seeing the misstep as part of a broader pattern of messaging challenges that have dogged her since her presidential campaign.
This time, though, the interview came after Harris participated in a wide-ranging media training session to improve her delivery and presentation in interviews and speeches, the latest of several sessions over the last year, according to multiple sources.
A senior Harris aide declined to detail the mid-April training, but said it was a "comprehensive session" that was similar to others she underwent after joining the Democratic ticket last summer and before taking office during the transition. The aide said the April session was not in response to, or in preparation for, any particular interview or topic. And political strategists said it is not unusual, and can be beneficial, for candidates and elected officials at the national level to engage in those types of trainings.
"We've seen this before. Harris is criticized by her detractors, sometimes fairly and usually unfairly," said a friend of Harris', who requested anonymity to speak frankly about her style. "And her instinct is to dig in, which in most instances only makes the situation worse."
While some allies saw a pattern of stumbles and expressed concerns about the strategy at play for securing Harris' long-term political future, others -- including aides to the President and vice president -- insist this latest stumble has been "overblown." Those close to Harris point to the agreements fostered from both Guatemala and Mexico's governments, and the effusive praise she received from leaders of both countries and civil society afterwards, as clear signs the vice president achieved her objective: deepening diplomatic relations.
"I know a thing or two about vice presidents. She's off to the fastest start of any vice president I've seen," said White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who also served as chief of staff to Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden. "It's a job that always has this weird kind of microscope on it. And I think, given all that, I think she has done remarkably well."
"Not a spinner"
Minyon Moore, an outside adviser to Harris and veteran Democratic strategist, said she has been struck by Harris' "level of discipline" and "curiosity," but suggested Harris' challenge is that she is "not a spinner."
"I've always known her to be a person that -- she's always well prepared, she always thinks through how she wants to approach answers, but she's not a spinner, if you will," Moore said, addressing the criticism Harris has faced for the NBC interview last week. "The bigger answer to your question -- was it unfair? -- perhaps. But, you know, life is not always fair and we get that."
Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said Harris "is aware of the coverage of her -- positive coverage and coverage that is not so positive."
"She takes note of it, but she is not focused on it," Sanders said. "She is really focused on day in and day out, doing her job and getting to the work."
Harris returned from her trip to a packed scheduled of events to advance her other portfolio items, like a bus tour on vaccinations starting in South Carolina and meeting with Texas politicians responsible for blocking a restrictive voting bill, part of her new role on voting rights.
Kamala Harris' rocky first foreign trip
But the most recent media training session makes clear that Harris and her team -- at a minimum -- see an opportunity to finesse her performance in front of the camera, particularly as she adjusts to the unique challenges of the vice presidency, including the constraints of being a messenger for someone else's agenda, rather than her own.
Harris had been prepped extensively by her team ahead of her first foreign trip, including for the question that tripped her up -- whether she would visit the border, one that has dogged her for months as Republicans have sought to portray her assignment focusing on the root causes of immigration as that of "border czar."
The prep made her answer -- pointing out that she had also not yet been to Europe -- all the more unnerving to allies and administration officials, who were perplexed and concerned that the answers would overshadow an otherwise successful first foreign trip.
"Watching Kamala Harris walk this weird tightrope on the border gives me flashbacks of her not having an answer for 'Medicare for All' or her position on busing," a former aide said. "There's only so much staff can do to prepare her. At some point she has to stop being scared of herself."
Current and former Harris aides described the vice president as someone who prepares "meticulously" for hearings, interviews and foreign trips alike -- but can be overly cautious when answering questions on which she does not feel like an expert and can grow frustrated when pressed.
"In her mind she's being careful to be truthful, but to observers it sometimes looks like she's being dismissive," a former aide said.
That trait appears to have been exacerbated by the role she now fills, in which she must be careful to hew to the talking points and agenda of the President and his White House, which can be an adjustment for a senator accustomed to being their own boss. It's a task that the gaffe-prone then-Vice President Joe Biden struggled with, most notably when he announced his support for gay marriage before President Barack Obama did.
"The nature of being the vice president means that there is always someone else you are thinking about," a senior Harris aide said.
Going viral again, but in a different way
Stepping away from the Senate and into the vice presidency has also put Harris more frequently on the other end of the same kind of dogged questioning that defined her political brand and helped catapult her to the vice presidency.
Days after fumbling the border question, a clip of one of Harris' star turns in a Senate hearing resurfaced: her grilling then-Attorney General William Barr in May 2019 over whether the White House had ever directed him to investigate specific individuals. Barr's uneasy demeanor under Harris' questioning became newly relevant amid revelations about the Justice Department's leak investigations that targeted congressional Democrats and news outlets.
Those viral, praise-worthy moments have been harder to come by since Harris became vice president, replaced instead by a portfolio offering no easy wins and at least three interviews that have raised questions about her political and messaging savvy -- including an early interview in West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's home state and a February interview in which she refused to back the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance declaring teacher vaccinations not required for school reopenings.
To some allies, those called to mind moments during Harris' 2020 campaign, like her zig-zag on the role of private insurance in Medicare for All and the fallout from her debate night attacks on then-candidate Biden over segregated busing.
Longtime allies say Harris' strength is in doing the actual work, not necessarily in talking about it.
"Throughout her career, Kamala Harris has eschewed 'grand gestures' that might yield short-term political wins," said Brian Brokaw, her campaign manager when she ran for the Senate, adding that she "focuses on doing the real work, often behind the scenes, that will bring about lasting results."
One close ally said Harris can be a victim of the "pressure" that she puts on herself as the first woman and Black and South Asian person to serve as vice president.
Democratic strategists and allies were also quick to argue that some of the scrutiny and criticism Harris has faced is a factor of her race and gender.
"I think so much of it is sexism," said Adrienne Elrod, a Democratic strategist. "My guess is if it was a man who was in her role, he would not be nearly as scrutinized in terms of how he gave those answers as she was."
"When it's a woman, it's, all of a sudden, 'Oh God, she doesn't know what she's doing!'" Elrod added. Allies of Harris pointed out that Biden didn't receive the same level of scrutiny when he told migrants earlier this year not to come to the US.
And several allies and former aides also raised concerns about Harris' overall strategy in office, pointing to a portfolio that includes a pair of high-profile issues -- the root causes of migration from Central America and the fight for voting rights -- that offer no easy policy wins that she could tout in a next run at the presidency. While some say that's just the nature of being vice president -- getting the prickly assignments -- allies of Harris say the President wants to see her triumph.
Klain, the White House chief of staff, said that Biden -- who also managed the same issue in his portfolio as vice president -- "knows what a tough assignment it is," which is why he gave it to Harris.
"When he gave the same assignment to his vice president, it's a sign of how he regards her as an incredibly competent, talented person who can deliver results," Klain said.
Klain and others said Biden is happy with his No. 2's performance so far. Aides said Biden called Harris on Friday to congratulate her on her trip, deeming it a success.
"In the end, vice presidents are judged by the results that they deliver for the country and the results they deliver for the administration," Klain said. "And on all of those standards, Vice President Harris is performing exceptionally. I know the President feels that way. I know everyone in the West Wing feels that way."
While some allies saw a pattern of stumbles and expressed concerns about the strategy at play for securing Harris' long-term political future, others -- including aides to the President and vice president -- insist this latest stumble has been "overblown." Those close to Harris point to the agreements fostered from both Guatemala and Mexico's governments, and the effusive praise she received from leaders of both countries and civil society afterwards, as clear signs the vice president achieved her objective: deepening diplomatic relations.
"I know a thing or two about vice presidents. She's off to the fastest start of any vice president I've seen," said White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who also served as chief of staff to Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden. "It's a job that always has this weird kind of microscope on it. And I think, given all that, I think she has done remarkably well."
"Not a spinner"
Minyon Moore, an outside adviser to Harris and veteran Democratic strategist, said she has been struck by Harris' "level of discipline" and "curiosity," but suggested Harris' challenge is that she is "not a spinner."
"I've always known her to be a person that -- she's always well prepared, she always thinks through how she wants to approach answers, but she's not a spinner, if you will," Moore said, addressing the criticism Harris has faced for the NBC interview last week. "The bigger answer to your question -- was it unfair? -- perhaps. But, you know, life is not always fair and we get that."
Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said Harris "is aware of the coverage of her -- positive coverage and coverage that is not so positive."
"She takes note of it, but she is not focused on it," Sanders said. "She is really focused on day in and day out, doing her job and getting to the work."
Harris returned from her trip to a packed scheduled of events to advance her other portfolio items, like a bus tour on vaccinations starting in South Carolina and meeting with Texas politicians responsible for blocking a restrictive voting bill, part of her new role on voting rights.
Kamala Harris' rocky first foreign trip
But the most recent media training session makes clear that Harris and her team -- at a minimum -- see an opportunity to finesse her performance in front of the camera, particularly as she adjusts to the unique challenges of the vice presidency, including the constraints of being a messenger for someone else's agenda, rather than her own.
Harris had been prepped extensively by her team ahead of her first foreign trip, including for the question that tripped her up -- whether she would visit the border, one that has dogged her for months as Republicans have sought to portray her assignment focusing on the root causes of immigration as that of "border czar."
The prep made her answer -- pointing out that she had also not yet been to Europe -- all the more unnerving to allies and administration officials, who were perplexed and concerned that the answers would overshadow an otherwise successful first foreign trip.
"Watching Kamala Harris walk this weird tightrope on the border gives me flashbacks of her not having an answer for 'Medicare for All' or her position on busing," a former aide said. "There's only so much staff can do to prepare her. At some point she has to stop being scared of herself."
Current and former Harris aides described the vice president as someone who prepares "meticulously" for hearings, interviews and foreign trips alike -- but can be overly cautious when answering questions on which she does not feel like an expert and can grow frustrated when pressed.
"In her mind she's being careful to be truthful, but to observers it sometimes looks like she's being dismissive," a former aide said.
That trait appears to have been exacerbated by the role she now fills, in which she must be careful to hew to the talking points and agenda of the President and his White House, which can be an adjustment for a senator accustomed to being their own boss. It's a task that the gaffe-prone then-Vice President Joe Biden struggled with, most notably when he announced his support for gay marriage before President Barack Obama did.
"The nature of being the vice president means that there is always someone else you are thinking about," a senior Harris aide said.
Going viral again, but in a different way
Stepping away from the Senate and into the vice presidency has also put Harris more frequently on the other end of the same kind of dogged questioning that defined her political brand and helped catapult her to the vice presidency.
Days after fumbling the border question, a clip of one of Harris' star turns in a Senate hearing resurfaced: her grilling then-Attorney General William Barr in May 2019 over whether the White House had ever directed him to investigate specific individuals. Barr's uneasy demeanor under Harris' questioning became newly relevant amid revelations about the Justice Department's leak investigations that targeted congressional Democrats and news outlets.
Those viral, praise-worthy moments have been harder to come by since Harris became vice president, replaced instead by a portfolio offering no easy wins and at least three interviews that have raised questions about her political and messaging savvy -- including an early interview in West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's home state and a February interview in which she refused to back the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance declaring teacher vaccinations not required for school reopenings.
To some allies, those called to mind moments during Harris' 2020 campaign, like her zig-zag on the role of private insurance in Medicare for All and the fallout from her debate night attacks on then-candidate Biden over segregated busing.
Longtime allies say Harris' strength is in doing the actual work, not necessarily in talking about it.
"Throughout her career, Kamala Harris has eschewed 'grand gestures' that might yield short-term political wins," said Brian Brokaw, her campaign manager when she ran for the Senate, adding that she "focuses on doing the real work, often behind the scenes, that will bring about lasting results."
One close ally said Harris can be a victim of the "pressure" that she puts on herself as the first woman and Black and South Asian person to serve as vice president.
Democratic strategists and allies were also quick to argue that some of the scrutiny and criticism Harris has faced is a factor of her race and gender.
"I think so much of it is sexism," said Adrienne Elrod, a Democratic strategist. "My guess is if it was a man who was in her role, he would not be nearly as scrutinized in terms of how he gave those answers as she was."
"When it's a woman, it's, all of a sudden, 'Oh God, she doesn't know what she's doing!'" Elrod added. Allies of Harris pointed out that Biden didn't receive the same level of scrutiny when he told migrants earlier this year not to come to the US.
And several allies and former aides also raised concerns about Harris' overall strategy in office, pointing to a portfolio that includes a pair of high-profile issues -- the root causes of migration from Central America and the fight for voting rights -- that offer no easy policy wins that she could tout in a next run at the presidency. While some say that's just the nature of being vice president -- getting the prickly assignments -- allies of Harris say the President wants to see her triumph.
Klain, the White House chief of staff, said that Biden -- who also managed the same issue in his portfolio as vice president -- "knows what a tough assignment it is," which is why he gave it to Harris.
"When he gave the same assignment to his vice president, it's a sign of how he regards her as an incredibly competent, talented person who can deliver results," Klain said.
Klain and others said Biden is happy with his No. 2's performance so far. Aides said Biden called Harris on Friday to congratulate her on her trip, deeming it a success.
"In the end, vice presidents are judged by the results that they deliver for the country and the results they deliver for the administration," Klain said. "And on all of those standards, Vice President Harris is performing exceptionally. I know the President feels that way. I know everyone in the West Wing feels that way."
'Her instinct is to dig in': Kamala Harris' struggles to answer border question seen as part of a pattern
Several allies and former aides to Vice President Kamala Harris had "flashbacks" last week as they watched her fumble a politically sensitive question during her first foreign trip, seeing the misstep as part of a broader pattern of messaging challenges that have dogged her since her...
