CNN pundit Errol Louis quipped Monday that “somebody got a memo” after Democrats piled on support for Vice President Kamala Harris days after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to give her a full-throated endorsement.
Pelosi joined CNN on Wednesday night, where she refused to answer whether Harris is the “best running mate” for Biden.
“[Biden] thinks so, and that’s what matters,” Pelosi told Anderson Cooper.
“But do you think she is the best running mate?” Cooper pressed.
“She’s the vice president of the United States. People say to me, ‘Well, why isn’t she doing this or that?’ I said it’s because she’s the vice president. That’s the job description – you don’t do that much,” Pelosi said.
CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday called out Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin for dodging a similar question. Raskin did say he believes Harris is “an excellent running mate” for Biden.
“There’s a very strong policy record to run on there,” Raskin said.
Democratic New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries also sang Harris’ praises Sunday, calling her a good decision for Biden to pick as a running mate.
“Coincidence Errol?” host Poppy Harlow asked Monday on “CNN This Morning.”
“No, not a coincidence, somebody got a memo, somebody got a couple of phone calls –”
“Yeah, a Biden-Harris ticket memo,” Harlow chimed in. (RELATED: There’s A Rising Democratic Star Who’d Be Far Worse For America Than Kamala Harris. Yep, You Read That Right)
“Look, this drumbeat, this idea, which actually came from the Republicans, that ‘a vote for Biden is a vote for Harris, so let’s attack Harris’ — the Democrats, I think, were slow to pick up on that, and we’re actually giving it a little bit of oxygen by not forcefully pushing back,” Louis said. “So what you just saw over the weekend was them finally realizing ‘Oh, if we don’t protect the black woman on the ticket, then the base of the Democratic Party — and black women vote for Democrats more faithfully than any other demographic group in the country — we’re gonna create a bunch of problems for ourselves.'”
“You could sort of dissolve the whole Democratic coalition just by not speaking up for your sitting vice president.”
Harris has struggled with low approval ratings and media criticism, with former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain attributing her low numbers to “sexism and racism.” Senate Democrats have also been reluctant to throw their support behind Harris, with four Democratic or Independent senators declining to say whether they would endorse Harris as Biden’s running mate.