Tipsheet

Why MSNBC's Focus Group Brutalized Kamala Harris

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 25, 2024 9:45 PM

Vice President Kamala Harris must sprint to define herself before the Republicans do. Democrats won’t have an official nominee until late August now that Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the 2024 race. Harris remains virtually an untested brand in national politics. Her only foray was her short-lived and utterly disastrous 2020 run, where she dropped out before voting even started—no Democrat has ever voted for her in any primary. Does she give Democrats a better shot at winning? For now. We’ll see if she doesn’t repeat past mistakes. Like Hillary, the more this woman remains in the spotlight, the more unpopular she becomes. 

In Wisconsin, a crucial swing state, voters here are distrustful of her since they want to know how much she knew about Joe Biden’s mental decline, which got exposed during his disastrous and eventually election-killing debate with Donald Trump on June 27. 

MSNBC did a focus group with these voters, who noted that Biden’s staff is primarily to blame for hiding the president’s rapid decline. One woman said that’s what makes her uneasy about Harris. The voter aptly noted how Harris has been around Biden almost daily.

“If she's willing to hide that type of information — once she's in office, now what's she willing to hide for herself?,” she added. 

For now, however, Harris’ failure to secure the southern border is the main source of GOP attacks. It got to the point where even the media is going back and scrubbing articles where they called her the “border czar.”

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Former Obama adviser David Axelrod, who seemed beside himself watching the Biden presidency decay, seems equally pessimistic about Harris’ 2024 chances for now. Even with the switcheroo, he says Trump is the is the “substantial favorite” over Harris (via The Hill): 

Democratic strategist David Axelrod says he believes former President Trump is still a “pretty substantial favorite” in November’s election, even as excitement builds among Democrats about Vice President Harris’s campaign. 

“I still rate him a, you know, pretty substantial favorite in this race just because of the electoral challenges,” Axelrod said Tuesday on his “Hacks on Tap” podcast. 

[…] 

After the announcement, Axelrod said Biden’s decision was “sad” but “necessary.” He had been one of the more prominent Democratic voices calling on Biden to suspend his campaign. 

Harris says she looked forward to earning the nomination, as Democrats such as Axelrod worry a “coronation” would not play well. 

But a “coronation” is exactly what’s happening.

Last Note: The network also spoke with progressives in Wisconsin, and they're not pleased that there wasn't a primary.