Harris Answers Some Interesting Questions While Overseas
Vice President Kamala Harris signaled Wednesday she is prepared to assume the role of commander-in-chief should President Biden become unable to fulfill his presidential duties, as questions about his age and health swirl around the White House.
The Vice President, during a press interview in Jakarta, Indonesia, during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, is understood to have expressed she is ready to meet her constitutional duty.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition. But let us also understand that every vice president — every vice president — understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president,” Vice President Harris said.
“I’m no different.”
The President, who turned 80 in November, is widely seen as too old for office and a recent AP/NORC poll showed that 77 percent of Americans and 69 percent of Democrats think the incumbent is too elderly to seek a second term.
President Biden would be 82 should he win again in 2024 and 86 at the end of a potential second term.
Some Republican presidential candidates, such as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, have argued that a vote for Biden would really amount to a vote for Harris.
Speaking of Biden’s age and health, Harris has dismissed the concerns of the public and media, putting her faith in the President’s ability to effectively lead the country.
“I see him every day. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out,” Harris asserted.
“And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers.”
The Vice President also spoke out of the recent effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, of which, Trump is widely viewed as the instigator.
Harris, who ran for the presidency in 2020 but quickly saw her campaign burn out, ran on a platform that stressed accountability and the upholding of the law.
“Let the evidence, the facts, take it where it may,” the Vice President said in the Jakarta press interview.
“I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor. I believe that people should be held accountable under the law. And when they break the law, there should be accountability.”
Trump, the current frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election, faces four federal indictments for alleged criminal activity in connection to the Capitol protests in January.
When questioned on the threat Trump poses to US democracy, Harris said: “Democracies are very fragile. They will only be as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”
The Vice President developed a reputation for having low approval ratings throughout her vice presidency. An NBC News poll conducted last month found that 32 percent of registered voters had a positive view of Harris, with 49 percent having a negative view, and 39 percent with a “very negative view”.
The President’s absence from the summit in Jakarta was regretted by some, though the white house were quick to stress the importance of the President’s commitment to the region, and this was reiterated by Harris in the interview in Jakarta.
“We as Americans, I believe, have a very significant interest, both in terms of our security but also our prosperity, today and in the future, in developing and strengthening these relationships,” the Vice President concluded.