(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris has made a notable shift in her approach to the Biden administration’s mounting challenges, signaling acknowledgment of the daunting hurdles faced in seeking re-election in 2024.
In a recent CNN interview, Harris stressed the necessity of having to “earn” another term in office, a striking departure from her previous dismissive stance toward low polling numbers.
“We’re going to have to earn our re-elect, there’s no doubt about it,” Harris declared on Sunday.
During the same interview, Harris emphasized the democratic process allowing voters to consider alternative candidates, likely referring to recent polls indicating a slight lead for former President Donald Trump in key states.
“It is absolutely right in a democracy with free and fair elections that the candidates, the people who want to continue in leadership have to make their case, and have to make it effectively,” she added, drawing attention to a change in communicating the White House talking points.
This shift in Harris’s response starkly contrasts with her earlier dismissals of low polls and rumors suggesting Democratic dissatisfaction with her performance.
In a Politico interview in August, she downplayed concerns, brushing off what she dubbed as distractions related to negative perceptions.
“I’m not going to be distracted from my priority around maternal health. I’m not going to be distracted [from] my long-standing commitment to support small businesses knowing that so many, especially minorities and women, don’t have access to capital,” Harris claimed on Aug. 21.
When confronted with the negative characterization reflected in polls, Harris said she “can’t get into people’s head about why” view her unfavorably.
An NBC News poll from August showed a staggering 49% of respondents holding a negative view of Harris. An earlier poll from NBC News awarded Harris with the highest negative favorability in the history of the outlet’s poll.
She told CNN on Sunday, “I have a great sense of duty and responsibility to do as much as I can, to be where the people are and to not only speak with them, but listen to them and let them know what we’ve accomplished.”
