Harris allies hit back at Democratic critics
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Kamala Harris during a Rose Garden event at the White House on Sept. 22. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back against her critics in a buzzy New York Times Magazine profile published Tuesday, casting her as a crucial asset to President Biden.
Why it matters: While the start of her term as vice president was marked by concerns over perceived missteps and high office turnover, the administration has been keen to boost her public image.
- Harris, a former U.S. senator from California and Democratic presidential candidate, has increased her travel engagements recently and leaned into issues like voting rights and abortion as re-election campaign focuses.
- The piece's author interviewed 75 people in Harris' orbit and the VP herself.
The big picture: White House senior adviser Anita Dunn told the magazine that Harris had "found her voice, and she's found her role."
- Rashad Robinson, president of the racial justice organization Color of Change who traveled with Harris to Africa this year, highlighted her ability to draw large crowds internationally.
- Laphonza Butler, California's new senator and a former adviser to Harris, said that Harris naysayers need to "cut the bulls--t."
- "The thing that makes it more disrespectful is that we're talking about a historic V.P. who has been a high-quality partner and asset to the country at a time when everything is at stake," Butler told the magazine in an interview before her Senate appointment. (Butler, the former Emily's List president, is completing the term of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.))
LaTosha Brown, a founder of Black Voters Matter, told the magazine there might have been "saboteurs" within the administration.
- "I think that they are worried about the age contrast. And they are worried about Kamala outshining Biden," she said.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Worth noting: While the Obama campaign in 2o12 conducted polling on potentially replacing Biden on the ticket, according to the magazine, Dunn insisted that the Biden administration has never done so or considered it on Harris.
- "This administration has never polled it," Dunn said. "Never thought about it. Never discussed it."
- Another profile of Harris published in The Atlantic Tuesday explored similar issues related to public perception of the vice president.
Editor's note: This story was updated with new information.
