Vice President Kamala Harris is prepared to become commander in chief, a top Senate ally of President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) made the comment during an interview less than a week after Biden announced a 2024 re-election campaign with Harris once again as his running mate.
“The vice president’s ready to run and ready to be president should that ever happen,” Coons said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I know our president has great confidence in her, and so do I.”
Democrat Senator Chris Coons: "The vice president is ready to run and ready to be president" 🥴 pic.twitter.com/RMyEK2vkJT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 30, 2023
Biden chose to stick with Harris as his running mate despite her poor approval ratings and inability to shake the view by critics that she did not take seriously her role as leader of the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border. As reported by Axios, the White House and Biden’s campaign are working on revamping her image.
Much of the focus on Harris is tied to concerns, even among Democrats, about Biden’s age and fitness to serve a full eight years in office. Already the oldest person to be president at 80 and prone to gaffes, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended his boss during an appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” when moderator Chuck Todd asked if Biden is up for a second term.
“Oh, Chuck, 100% — incredibly sharp, incredibly probing, incredible command of the details, probing on the details, asking tough questions. Absolutely,” Majorkas said.
"Is [Biden] up for a second term?"
MAYORKAS: "Oh, Chuck, 100% — incredibly sharp, incredibly probing, incredible command" pic.twitter.com/u5aCA3gwpb
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 30, 2023
Coons, who served in the Senate alongside Harris, touted Harris after anchor Martha Raddatz asked him why it took so long for the Biden team to decide to make the vice president “front and center” on major issues.
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Coons acknowledged Harris is having difficulties earning favorable headlines but insisted he sees a strong leader in her.
“The vice president, like many vice presidents, has struggled to get positive press coverage and to get the credit she deserves for the hard work that she’s been doing,” Coons said.
“I had a great opportunity to travel with her on a recent trip to Ghana and was so struck by how easy and engaging she was, by the speeches she gave, but also the significant meetings with national leaders,” he added. “And I saw that this week again as we did a campaign kickoff event.”