Kamala Harris spoke of a “bold and dynamic” Joe Biden when asked Wednesday morning about his age in relation to his suitability to be president – when the 80-year-old is expected to runs for the White House again in 2024.
The US vice president attacked the Republican “theater” during Biden’s strong performance during his state of the union address on Tuesday night. Biden has yet to say whether he’ll run for a second term – or if Harris will be his mate on the ticket again if he does – but his speech appeared to bolster the odds of that, as did his upbeat interview. .
Harris touted the administration’s bipartisan successes, in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America early Wednesday, shortly after Biden tweeted“What a night, VP” with a photo of him shaking hands with a beaming Harris after the speech.
The president, who will be two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday in the next election, said he would announce his decision early this year.
“Age is more than a chronological fact, to be very frank with you,” Harris told interviewer George Stephanopoulos.
“It’s about asking if we have in our leader, what we do in Joe Biden, someone bold. What he has achieved in this presidency in just two years is historic in terms of investing in infrastructure… I think you will see that we have a very bold and dynamic president in Joe Biden,” she said. declared.
She acknowledged, however, when asked about Biden’s languid endorsement ratings, that “people are still hurting in America” due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic and economic challenges, including high inflation.
“A lot of good work has been done, but there is still work to be done. There is no doubt about that,” she said.
Harris criticized the unruly conduct of some Republicans in the chamber, including extremist but increasingly influential Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, shouting “liar” at Biden as he spoke.
“I think there’s a bit of what’s going on in this play, unfortunately it’s all about drama. But when you talk about substantive work, I think we’ve seen some success in terms of bipartisan work.
“Look what we did together. It was bipartisan when it came to gun safety laws, the first time in decades where we had meaningful federal legislation in this regard. So the president, c “It’s his nature, and it’s his commitment to the American people to work across the aisle. It’s not going to stop even if some people are cynical about it.”
Harris elaborated on the rowdiness in a later interview on CBS Mornings: “Unfortunately, there’s usually a theatrical element to the evening over time,” she said.
“But I think the president was in charge, and he was focused on the American people, as opposed to the spirit of the game that was playing out in the room.”
Stronger condemnation came Wednesday from members of Congress from both parties. South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn told CNN This Morning that Republican Chairman Kevin McCarthy’s efforts to suppress his caucus fell on deaf ears.
“I understand he told them something about it. And they didn’t listen. When you’re dealing with kindergartners, it’s quite difficult to get them to listen,” he said.
Montana Republican Ryan Zinke was also unhappy with the noise.
“I was born and raised to be a gentleman, and he’s my president,” he told the same program.