Vice President Kamala Harris defended President Joe Biden’s age as they seek a second term, saying “age is more than a chronological fact.”
Harris also agreed that much of her unpopularity is due to “sexism and racism.”
The vice president also declined to comment on TikTok, lambasted Kevin McCarthy’s leadership and defended the administration’s handling of the immigration crisis in her interview with Andrew Sorkin for the New York Times Dealbook Summit.
In her role as running mate, Harris is expected to be one of Biden’s biggest surrogates and defenders on the campaign trail as they look to stay in the White House for another four years.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage at the New York Times Dealbook Summit
But she gave a bizarre answer when asked about concerns — voiced by many Republicans and some Democrats — that Biden should resign at age 81 to allow a younger generation to run for office.
“I would say age is more than a chronological fact,” Harris said in response. “I spend a lot of time with our president, whether it’s in the Oval Office, the Situation Room and other places.”
“Not only is he absolutely authoritative in rooms around the world, but in the Oval Office, meeting with members of Congress, meeting with industry leaders, meeting with community leaders, I will tell you that he often speaks to everyone in the world is present. space to think about how we can solve problems.’
Biden, the oldest president in American history, has faced questions about his mental and physical health. His doctor has declared him healthy and fit to become president.
But polls show that Americans are concerned about his age in a way that they are not concerned about that of Donald Trump, who is just three years younger than Biden.
A NBC News poll The data around Biden’s birthday this month showed that American voters would prefer another Republican than Biden in the Oval Office, with the president losing by double digits to an unnamed candidate 48% to 37%.
Meanwhile, a Messenger/Harris Survey showed that Trump, who controls the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, easily defeated Biden, 47% to 40%.
However, Harris defended the president, including a comment from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker. McCarthy had previously discussed the president’s age at the summit when discussing the debt limit.
“If anyone has had the experience he has had recently, I don’t think he is the judge of the negotiations,” Harris said, a reference to McCarthy losing the House of Representatives chairmanship.
President Joe Biden, touring a wind turbine manufacturer in Pueblo, Colorado, faces questions about his age as he seeks a second term
Vice President Kamala Harris told Andrew Sorkin she agrees with assessment that she is unpopular because of ‘sexism and racism’
She was also asked about her own unpopularity. Her approval rating stands at 36%, according to the Five Thirty-Eight average, which is even lower than Biden’s approval rating, which hovers between the low and mid-40s.
Host Andrew Sorkin asked Harris if she agreed with an assessment by former White House chief of staff Ron Klein, who said Harris’ unpopularity was “a function of sexism and racism.”
“As for the Meda, I’m sure some of that is true,” Harris replied.
Harris is the first female and black vice president and the first of Asian descent.
She also said that the “media’s” view of her is more negative than the reception she receives from “American people,” including students and young voters.
In her conversation with Sorkin, the vice president declined to get drawn into a debate about TikTok and declined to comment on the social media platform other than to say she doesn’t use it.
Furthermore, Harris, who was put in charge of the government’s response to the migrant crisis, defended their handling of the issue.
In September, there were a total of 269,735 encounters along the southwest border last month and a new fiscal year high of 2.47 million encounters, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data.
In addition, mayors of major cities Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York have appealed to the government for money to help with the wave of migrants entering their cities.
“We provide” help, Harris argued.
Immigration is becoming a political hot potato for the Biden administration. Even some Democrats — especially those representing border states or major cities overrun by migrants — are pressuring Biden to do more.
And Republicans have slammed the Biden administration for the record number of border crossings along the southern border.
“I would say it’s no surprise to anyone here that our immigration system is broken,” she said.
“And you could talk about what happened over the last four years before we came in, in terms of what may have been the intention to break our immigration system, but it needs to be fixed and we are working on that in a way that we have brought. a safe, humane and orderly immigration system at the border,” she added.