Bad News: VP Kamala Harris is clearly the GOP’s top target when it comes to the 2024 presidential race. And that won’t end anytime soon – Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is currently among the Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for next year’s presidential race, has pressed a unique line of attack against Kamala Harris and Joe Biden that is making some headlines and is bad news for Harris over the long term.
Kamala Harris on the Hotseat
“A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris you know that and I know that,” Haley said during an appearance on “Good Morning America” last month.
“There is no way Joe Biden is going to finish his term. I think Kamala Harris is going to be the next president and that should send a chill up every American’s spine.”
Though she received pushback from ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos for taking such a direct line that Biden – who would be 86 years old at the end of a second term – was unlikely to even be fit enough for the office, has only doubled down on why Americans should fear a Harris presidency.
Living Embodiment of the Peter Principle?
Nikki Haley is hardly alone in being so blunt about Harris or the Biden Administration in general.
Earlier this year, Real Clear Politics contributor Charles Lipson described Harris as the “Living embodiment of the Peter Principle” – where people keep getting promoted until they reach jobs for which they are clearly unqualified. More and more Americans think that describes our current vice president.”
Harris has the dubious distinction of having the worst poll numbers for any vice president in modern history – below even Dick Cheney who critics compared to Darth Vader of Star Wars fame! (Of course, Cheney has admitted he was “flattered” to be compared to the “Sith Lord.”)
That’s Not Racist
What is notable is that most candidates can’t openly attack Kamala Harris without seeming like they’re attacking not just the first woman vice president, but the first woman of color who is also part Asian to hold the office.
Haley is the exception.
Even supporters of Biden have suggested that while she is a long-shot candidate, Haley is exposing a serious Biden vulnerability.
The former South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the United Nations is absolutely the only GOP candidate that can say it like it is when it comes to Harris and face no pushback.
The Republican field is mostly made up of white males – apart from even longer shot Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. The former South Carolina governor can call out the shortcomings of the VEEP without seeming “anti-woman” while Haley is also the daughter of Indian immigrants.
“They know they can’t call me a racist,” Haley said during a recent appearance on Fox News. “They know they can’t call out anything I do because I’m their worst nightmare.”
Haley is able to tell it like she sees it when it comes to Harris.
“This has nothing to do with Kamala’s gender or Kamala’s race. Everything she has ever been given, she has failed at,” warned Haley about Harris. “That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact.”
Haley is still a long shot at best, but her attacks on Harris could be the best way to make Americans consider whether Joe Biden’s age is really an issue, and whether the current VP is actually up for the job.
It is a valid point – one that those old white guys really can’t so easily make.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
