CNN probably surprised many readers with a well-documented report Sunday about the ongoing embarrassment that is Kamala Harris.
The lengthy article, titled “Exasperation and dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris’ frustrating start as vice president,” detailed the frustration between West Wing aides and the vice president over the lack of so-called leadership positions she’s been assigned.
Progressive pundit Bakari Sellers and left-leaning journalist Evan Osnos didn’t like that. They criticized the outlet’s reporting on CNN Monday.
“I have a larger issue with the tone and tenor by which Kamala Harris is covered, and I think we saw that in this article,” Sellers said, adding that he needed to “push back heavily” on the coverage.
“The only thing they mentioned about that French trip was the right-wing trope that somehow she was utilizing a French accent and saying ‘thee’ instead of ‘the,’” Sellers claimed, while calling her recent European trip “flawless.” “So when you have these articles come out it puts a lot of us in a defensive posture because we see that a lot of people are treating Kamala Harris the same way they treated Hillary Clinton, which is attempting to end her political career, in a death by million cuts.”
That’s a pretty cliché reach by the paid Liberian lobbyist. Sellers then said Harris “should be on black radio every week.”
CNN’s reporters — one of whom covered Harris’ disastrous presidential campaign — spoke with three dozens administration officials, aides, and advisors.
“Few of the insiders who spoke with CNN think she’s being well-prepared for whichever role it will be,” the piece explained. “Harris is struggling with a rocky relationship with some parts of the White House, while long-time supporters feel abandoned and see no coherent public sense of what she’s done or been trying to do as vice president.”
Sellers believes the frustration is due to Harris seeking a larger public role than being “stuck in the Washington bubble.”
This is hilarious and exactly what Biden deserves for picking Harris in the first place pic.twitter.com/FKicaP23c1
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) November 15, 2021
Osnos predicted Harris will play a key role in the 2022 midterm elections, adding that she has the opportunity to use her voice “to speak for parts of the party.”
“She’s been kind of kept under wraps here, close to town, close to Washington, and we’re now entering a period into the build-up of the 2022 midterm elections where you can get her out on the road,” he argued. “You can have her doing things that can establish both more of her own individual voice and also show that she can speak for parts of the party that are not getting heard everyday.”
Considering how unrelatable Harris was as candidate and surrogate, it’s not clear why anyone would want her support.
Related: Unpopular Harris is an Unpopular Liability
CNN’s article also said Harris did not want to be involved in addressing “root causes” of immigration. She‘s received bipartisan criticism for avoiding visiting the southern border other than a June photo op in El Paso.
Fernando García, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights, met with Harris during that quick Texas stop. Nearly five months later, García says she disappeared.
“We haven’t heard any substantive messaging push for better immigration policies,” he told CNN. “We haven’t seen her leadership.”
October numbers were released Monday, and it’s not like the border crisis has dissipated.
I doubt Harris cares, sadly.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pitifully defended the vice president Sunday night by pointing to her handling of “voting rights” and others nonsensical matters.
For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country—from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) November 15, 2021
I didn’t hear complaints from Mike Pence, Dick Cheney or even Joe Biden about their duties as vice president. Why is Harris special, other than her perhaps being the least popular politician in America, now disliked by nearly three in four Americans?
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