You may have noticed how Vice President Kamala Harris has gone AWOL from the public eye after her disastrous CNN multiple-choice interview with Dana Bash.
In one clip, she is seen rushing from her limousine up the steps of her plane, ignoring reporters because she has wired headsets on, and giving the impression that she is talking to someone on her phone. The problem is that she is also holding the phone close to her ear. So, was she faking a conversation?
Harris was clearly faking her speech as she jetted from city to city for scripted campaign appearances. She was ridiculed for using tailored accents depending on her audience. Why can't she just be herself?
Harris is a relative unknown as the 2024 presidential campaign season enters its final stretch, and Americans are finally tuning in. Her name recognition has spiked up in the last six weeks only because of wall-to-wall positive coverage on mainstream media outlets, celebrating her campaign theme of a younger person of color turning the page and leading America into a joyous future. Propaganda aside, voter responses about Harris's favorability and record are crucial indicators of what may likely happen in November.
In our latest TIPP Poll, which surveyed 1,582 Americans and was completed last Friday, we asked voters how they would rate her term as Vice President. Only 44% approved of her performance. Democrats, glad to have had Biden dislodged and praying for anyone to beat Trump, really anyone, broadly said they approved her job as VP (85%). But, what must be concerning to Democrats is that nearly half of all independents (47%), who will play a vital role in the battleground states, disapproved.
And, there is more bad news for the Harris campaign. Her approval ratings on the economy—a top concern for Americans according to every survey over the last three years—are a disaster.
We asked: How would you grade Harris's efforts on the economy? Only 37% overall graded her with a B or above. 25% of Democrats rated her C or below, an astonishing rebuke of her leadership even within her party. 88% of Republicans and 63% of independents graded her C or below.
On immigration and border security, another top issue in American minds since Biden and Harris opened the floodgates the day Biden took office, Harris polled lower than the economy. Only 30% overall graded her with a B or above. This score is directly linked to her performance as Vice President; after all, Biden expressly anointed her as the border czar, although the Harris campaign, ably assisted by the media, is attempting to rewrite history and claim that the President never did appoint her as such.
What is even more remarkable is that 35% of Democrats rated her C or below, showing that the Harris immigration policy has hurt millions of Democrats. The Vice President now claims that she will be tough on the border, but her past statements about Medicare for All, including illegal immigrants, will haunt her during the coming weeks. It was little surprise that 92% of Republicans and 69% of independents graded her C or below.
Harris fared no better on crime, another crucial issue. Surveys show that Americans have experienced a real deterioration in their quality of life. Only 33% graded her with a B or above.
Yet, when we asked voters about Harris's favorability, 47% had a favorable view, an anomaly compared with how badly she polls on her record. Perhaps voters are persuaded by Harris's promise of leaving behind two 78+-year politicians. Perhaps voters are concerned about Biden’s ongoing lawfare against Trump.
Voter skepticism is evident in Americans' assessment of Harris's performance as Vice President. Only about a third (37%) give her positive marks, while 59% rate her a C or below. Notably, a quarter of Democrats are dissatisfied, grading her performance at a C or lower. Meanwhile, two-thirds (66%) of independents and 89% of Republicans also rate her as average or below.
At next week's ABC News debate, watch for President Trump to challenge Harris—ranked as the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate—on her miserable record and numerous flip-flops as she tries to move to the center from her San Francisco leftist position. Expect Harris to attack Trump hard on his legal troubles, character, and past while talking about a joyous future. The Vice President will try every trick to avoid discussing her own past or performance because doing so would be to her detriment. In effect, Harris will continue her handlers' strategy of running out the clock before Americans realize what a terrible candidate she is.
We are convinced that ABC News will have among the highest viewership statistics ever for a network next week. The stakes are so high.
