Introduction
With the long gas lines in southeastern US, rising inflation, and a jobs report that fell below expectations nearly fourfold, some conservatives have compared Joe Biden to Jimmy Carter due to similar woes. The long gas lines are more symbolic than an actual parallel as the circumstances behind them under Biden and Carter's tenures are different. That said, both presidents inherited a rising economy only to see the economy slow down along with rising inflation.
It should be noted that Biden still has over 3.5 years left, so perhaps he can turn things around (or not). However, I want to turn the attention to the other leader of the executive branch: Vice President Kamala Harris. Looking at her track record and numbers, she may be substantially worse than Biden.
Where is Kamala?
Ever since Biden took office, the number of border encounters has skyrocketed to alarming highs. This brought a lot of scrutiny into how the administration has been handling the crisis to which it initially responded with censorship attempts. As I mentioned in this article, doing nothing to stop the illegal crossings will only further make the cartels even more powerful which will lead to even more migrants.
When Harris was asked if she would visit the border in late March, she immediately responded with her infamous cackle:
I get it. Everyone has their unique nervous ticks, but goodness, the optics of that were not good.
On March 24, Biden appointed Harris to lead the diplomatic efforts to address the border crisis. However, despite being given a huge role, Harris went 34 days, 47 days, 54 days without visiting the border once. Just five days ago, the LA Times reported that even "some Democrats, nonpartisan policy experts and pro-immigrant advocacy groups also say Harris should visit the border".
Harris did have a meeting with Mexico's President López Obrador earlier this month. However, based on the opening paragraph of this article from ABC International, Obrador did not seem too happy about how the meeting went. While, as stated by Reuters, Orbrador "has touted his good relations with both the previous Trump administration and the current Biden administration", the opening sentence of ABC International's article painted a different picture. It stated that "Much has changed in the attitude of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador towards the White House after Donald Trump's departure", implying relations with the Biden administration are worse than they were with Trump's admin.
Obrador criticized the US for funding anti-corruption groups seeking to undermine his presidency. He called his norther neighbor's actions as "interference" and "interventionalism", and asked the US to cease funding. He also complained about Harris leaving the meeting early due to "other commitments", calling it rude (please correct me if Google Translate is wrong).
Closing Thoughts
While a lot of criticism has been thrown in Joe Biden's direction, we should not forget the #2 person in the executive branch who I find to be even worse. With the president's declining mental health, there is a decent chance that Harris will take over the #1 spot, and be tasked with solving domestic and international issues.
Her absence at the border and lack of transparency are not certainly encouraging. Even worse, what transpired during her and Obrador's meeting does not inspire confidence on her ability to handle diplomatic and international affairs.
It would behoove Biden and Harris to be more upfront and transparent on how they are handling each issue, not just the border crisis. The latter especially needs to step up because chances are, she will be running for the 2024 ticket, not Biden. If this poll is true and the numbers don't change, then she will have a very rough time whether she be running against Trump, DeSantis, or whoever else:
Her high disapproval rating among independents will be her downfall if this keeps up.
