Vice President Harris and Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg tour the tram operation at the Charlotte Area Transit System bus garage on Thursday. The two were in North Carolina pushing for new infrastructure legislation.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
Vice President Harris and Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg tour the tram operation at the Charlotte Area Transit System bus garage on Thursday. The two were in North Carolina pushing for new infrastructure legislation.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
After months of internal fighting and public bargaining over their far-reaching legislation, Democrats are, in part, counting on the Biden administration’s sales work in the coming months to try to salvage a congressional majority. their swaying.
Two of the administration’s top spokespeople, Vice President Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, came together on that effort Thursday in Charlotte, NC, where they pushed for infrastructure legislation. issued recently.
“For millions of Americans, public transportation is part of their day, every day,” Harris speak at a light rail maintenance facility, noting the connection between a good public transport system and the accessibility of jobs for low-income workers. “And a bus stop within walking distance can make all the difference from a bus stop that you have to walk half an hour to.”
Aside from the short-term political consequences of how Harris and Buttigieg committed crimes, both are seen as potential futures for the Democratic Party. With President Biden turning 80, the political focus has trained more brightly than usual on the pair.
That’s especially true of the vice president, who has faced harsh criticism after a series of missteps in interviews and public appearances. She is a lightning rod for what is right, and her approval and favorite ratings have suffered.
The issues were highlighted this week with the news that Symone Sanders, a top communications aide to Harris, will be leaving at the end of the year. That followed the departure of another communications officer, and the White House brought in others to help.
Defenders argue that the criticism is unfair, that Harris has acquired a portfolio of controversial issues, and that the first vice president is a woman of color who has faced attention hotter than the traditional case.
“When Joe Biden was vice president, people didn’t think he was going to run for president, so he wasn’t as heavily scrutinized,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and former self-styled veteran. participate in many campaigns said. “We have to admit that she was assessed differently and reported differently.”
Buttigieg chat increased
The result is, some have started looking to Buttigieg as one can bring the party mantle forward. He makes arguments for the Democratic Party in a disciplined manner; he ran an authoritative 2020 presidential primary campaign in Iowa (Harris dropped out before the caucuses); and polls have shown that he better like.
But Buttigieg, who is openly gay, has his downsides too. At 39, he has less experience in public offices than Harris, who was not only a US senator but also the attorney general of California before that. Buttigieg’s top job before running the Department of Transportation was as mayor of South Bend, Ind.
Buttigieg spoke at Thursday’s event in Charlotte.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
Buttigieg spoke at Thursday’s event in Charlotte.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
And while he has had some success along the way, he has ridicule to emulate – perhaps too closely – the style of former President Barack Obama and he fought strongly with Black and brown voters, even after he faced criticism to handle police-related cases in South Bend.
In the end, it was up to him not to win over them. No one can win the Democratic nomination without the participation of voters of color.
He will also face a major test in the coming months. As Transport Minister, he will have a role in setting aside the infrastructure fund.
“He’s a very impressive person, no doubt,” Finney said, but “I think this is going to be a big test for him. Getting money out the door and into the community quickly and efficiently. It’s going to be very important. People will remember whether it was done or not.”
Focus on Harris
As number 2 hand-picked by Biden, Harris is clearly the heir.
“She was ready to do this job on Day One,” Biden said of Harris when he introduced her as his running mate last year.
But Harris, 57, has shown his weaknesses. Messaging mistakes have plagued her 2020 presidential campaign, and that continues in the administration.
Harris made comments on the infrastructure at the Charlotte stop.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
Harris made comments on the infrastructure at the Charlotte stop.
Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
Harris’s most notable mistake was her rough answer in an interview with NBC in June about whether she was visiting the southern US border.
“And I’ve never been to Europe,” Harris said with a laugh. “I mean, I don’t get what you mean.”
Harris was recently tasked with addressing the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States.
Weeks later, Harris made the first trip to the border.
Her reaction was also given after the vice president is said to have attended a training session in communication to help improve her interviews and speeches.
But in September, Harris again be censured, this time for not intervening when a student, on a trip to a Virginia school, accused Israel of participating in “national genocide”. Instead, Harris partially responded by saying the student’s “unquenchable truth”.
Harris’ Border Comments coincides with a turning point in her favorite more negative than positive. Biden’s ratings also fell during that period, starting with an increase in COVID cases due to the delta variant, as well as an increase in inflation. It makes sense that if Biden’s approval drops, so should his vice president.
“She’s ready to take on whatever the president asks her to do,” said Jim Margolis, a Democratic consultant who served as a senior adviser on Harris’s presidential campaign. What she’s asked to do is tough, hard-to-solve problems. , said about the difficult portfolio she has been assigned. “It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bow your head and try to get them done.”
A full disc
The list of issues on which Harris has been tasked ranges from immigration to voting rights to even help repair the US relationship with France after a failed declaration of an alliance with Australia and Britain would cost France billions of dollars selling submarines.
Margolis notes that kind of responsibility comes with the job. It can be a political gain if handled well and can hurt the political outlook if not.
“If there is widespread success in the administration, that will reflect positively on her,” Margolis said, noting that the administration has a positive story to tell and recent travels, Margolis said. aiming to advance the president’s agenda is a good start – but more needs to be done.
“It’s up to her and Biden to get out more,” because, he added, “I don’t think voters have an opinion at all about the efforts that have been achieved.”
Buttigieg has largely evaded that scrutiny so far. But the more he rises, the more he will become a right’s target.
Finney said Harris doesn’t get the credit for bringing more diverse interests to the table, something she feels is underappreciated in Washington’s traditional power circles.
“She’s a groundbreaking, historical figure in a role designed for a white male and has its own stereotype,” she said, “and we didn’t completely change the preset. her role so that the role might look different to her.”
To be sure, however, Harris still popular with the Democratic base and potentially formidable in a preliminary party.
Opponent team
For their part, Harris and Buttigieg dismiss any talk of rivalry.
Buttigieg told reporters ahead of the Charlotte event: “I’m delighted to be part of the team led by the president and vice president, and I think the teamwork that has brought us to this point is just a little bit new. begin.
All the drama between them was from the outside, people close to them said.
“These are two people who really like each other,” Margolis said, pointing out that the two of them get along exceptionally well.
At the end of the day, the sitting vice presidents running to succeed their bosses are hard to beat. In recent history, for example, Republican George HW Bush and Democrat Al Gore have been challenged, but won the party’s nomination fairly easily.
Biden himself did not run in 2016 to immediately succeed Obama, but his role as vice president has raised his profile to the point where he won the White House in 2020 despite two failed nominations before. there.
Of course, any of this depends on whether Biden runs for office, which the White House said last week remained his “intention”.
But intentions can change. And it’s not in Biden’s interest to say anything else. If he says he’s not running, he’ll instantly become a lame duck with little or no political leverage, making it difficult for any Democratic Party agenda to be.
“For the sake of the president and the purpose of his agenda,” Finney said, “he shouldn’t have answered that question until the last minute he had to.”
Until then, any speculation about who will lead the team after Biden, whether it’s Harris, Buttigieg or anyone else, is on the line.
“It’s 2021,” Buttigieg speak Thursday. “And the whole point of campaigns and elections is that when they go well, you’re in charge. And we’re completely focused on the job at hand.”
