President Joe Biden called Vice President Kamala Harris “a work in progress” while venting to a friend in a moment of frustration, a new book says.
Biden was “annoyed” by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff’s complaints about Harris suffering politically because of her policy assignments, Politico reported.
News: In the first months of his presidency, Biden vented his frustration about VP Kamala Harris, telling a friend that she was “a work in progress,” per a new book due out next month obtained by Politicohttps://t.co/5nExNHFUJQ
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) December 21, 2022
Biden “hadn’t asked Harris to do anything he hadn’t done as vice president — and she’d begged him for the voting rights assignment,” the new book says. Harris led the administration’s push for voting rights legislation before it was stalled in the Senate, Politico reported.
The book, called “The Fight of His Life,” was written by bestselling author Chris Ripple, who received access to Biden and top administration officials, Politico said. It will come out Jan. 17 and reportedly chronicles the first two years of Biden’s presidency based on insider accounts.
“[Harris’] inner circle didn’t serve her well in the presidential campaign — and they are ill-serving her now,” a senior White House official allegedly told Ripple. Harris’ 2020 Democratic Presidential campaign was suspended two months before the Iowa caucus, despite initial excitement.
The vice president’s approval ratings have steadily decreased from 55.2% in April 2021 to 40.7% in Dec. 2022, data aggregator FiveThirtyEight measured.
Her approval ratings began to decline following a June 2021 foreign trip to Guatemala and Mexico to address the causes of illegal immigration. (RELATED: Biden Admin Asks SCOTUS To Deny GOP States’ Request To Keep Trump-Era Border Policy In Place)
In an interview from Guatemala with NBC’s Lester Holt, Harris laughed off Holt’s question about why she had not visited the southern border as part of her work on immigration.
Harris’ approval cratered at 29% in Nov. 2021 as top staffers left her office in droves. High profile departures included top aide Symone Sanders and Communications Director Ashley Etienne, Politico reported.