WASHINGTON, D.C. – The LA Times has released the results of a new opinion poll where they have been tracking the public’s general views and perception of Vice President Kamala Harris, a California native and the first female, Black, and South Asian to serve as the President’s right-hand. And unfortunately, said poll results do not paint a pretty picture of the Average Joe’s view of our country’s VP.
As of July 27, 2021, The Times reports that just 45 percent of those polled have “favorable” opinion of Harris, contrasted by 48 percent that had an “unfavorable” opinion of her. In comparison, President Joe Biden currently has a 52 “favorable” rating, and a 45 percent “unfavorable” rating.
Some are attributing the overall disapproval rating of Harris to her appointment overseeing the United States’ current migrant crisis at the southern border, with members of the GOP essentially holding the Vice President up as a symbol of the failure of the Biden Administrations immigration policies in an effort to boost their own political fortunes.
It’s hard to argue with that sentiment, as Harris’ approval ratings first began to take a dive after she was appointed to addressing the border crisis, with unfavorable opinions overtaking favorable ones as of June. During the same period, Biden also experienced a decrease in his approval ratings, although not nearly as severe as his VP’s.
However, The Times also noted that female politicians – and many noted women in general – are often targeted much more often for abuse than men are, especially on the internet; as women, including those of Harris stature, increase their public profile, they often find themselves the subject of sexist, misogynistic, and even violent attacks on social media, with The Times saying that they uncovered countless examples of this being the case.
Oddly enough, the low favorability ratings of Harris as Vice President are nothing new to the position; The Times’ polls have shown that the office of the nation’s second-in-command has developed the dubious distinction of losing the support of the general public as the politics of the nation are becoming far more partisan than ever before.
Harris’ current ratings, while low, are nonetheless still higher than her predecessor Mike Pence’s were at the same point in their respective tenures; however, the previous three vice presidents before Pence all enjoyed favorability ratings much higher than Harris does now.
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