VP says she has "no doubt" of Biden-Harris 2024 win despite lackluster polls
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Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. State Department on Oct. 26, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris touted the Biden administration's economic credentials as she said "we're gonna win" in 2024 during an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" broadcast Sunday.
The big picture: During their interview, CBS' Bill Whitaker pressed the vice president on polls indicating the Biden-Harris ticket "running neck and neck" with former President Trump, who faces 91 criminal counts in four different jurisdictions.
What they're saying: Whitaker noted to Harris that a recent CBS poll found that less than 50% of young people said Biden's doing a good job, down 20% from the start of his term.
- "If you poll how young people feel about the climate and the warming of our planet, it polls as one of their top concerns," Harris said.
- "When we talk about what we are doing with student loan debt, polls very high. The challenge that we have as an administration is we gotta let people know who brung it to 'em," added Harris, who blamed a lack of media coverage in part for the problem.
- "But it is not that the work we are doing is not very, very popular with a lot of people."
Of note: On Trump's legal woes, Whitaker asked Harris why the Biden-Harris ticket was "not 30 points ahead" in the polls.
- "I'm not a political pundit, so I'm not gonna speak to that. But what I will say is this: When the American people are able to take a close look at election time on their options, I think the choice is gonna be clear. ... We're gonna win. And I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. But we will win. I have no doubt."
- Harris added that it would be "a lot of work and everyone's going to have to participate."
Whitaker responded: "Do you have to ask yourself, 'Why are people seeming not to hear our message?'"
- "I look at it more as let's keep getting out there," Harris replied. "And, as with any election, we gotta make our case to the American people. That's part of our responsibility. And that's this process. And that's what it is. And that's a fair process."
Zoom out: Harris also spoke with Whitaker about responding to a record number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, as she called on Congress to "invest in the root causes of migration," and on addressing gun violence by reinstating an assault weapons ban.
- Harris' "60 Minutes" interview took place one day before the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. this year, when a gunman killed 18 people at two locations in Lewiston, Maine.
Meanwhile, President Biden praised his "partner" Harris in a statement to the program for her "advice and counsel" on the Israel-Hamas war, which he said had been "invaluable."
- Harris emphasized to Whitaker that the Biden administration has "absolutely no intention, nor do we have any plans, to send combat troops into Israel or Gaza, period."
Go deeper: Biden's approval rating among Dems drops 11 points in one month
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details from Vice President Kamala Harris' "60 Minutes" interview and further context.
