A new survey shows that Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating is continuing to plummet following the departure of two key members of her staff and amid renewed scrutiny of her management style.
A Rasmussen Reports poll found that just 39 percent of likely voters have a favorable impression of Harris, while 57 percent have an “unfavorable view” of the Veep.
Harris is further underwater among those who have strong views of her. While 19 percent of likely voters say they have a “very favorable” opinion of the vice president, fully half (50 percent) of all respondents say they have a “very unfavorable” impression.
The grim numbers come after chief Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders became the latest top staffer in the VP’s office to announce their departure, joining director of press operations Peter Velz and deputy director of public engagement Vince Evans.
Harris communications director Ashley Eitenne started what seems now as an ongoing exodus last month, days after the publication of a CNN report that described the professional relationship between Harris and President Biden as an “exhausted stalemate” and quoted Harris allies suggesting that she wasn’t receiving proper support from the West Wing.
The report stirred speculation that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg could supplant Harris as the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in either 2024 or 2028.
The White House has attempted some damage control seeking to spin the departures in a positive light, with press secretary Jen Psaki calling them “natural” — and even noting that top executive branch staffers may just want “to sleep more.”
“Working in the first year of a White House is exciting and rewarding, but it’s also grueling and exhausting,” Psaki said last week. “If you look at past precedent, it’s natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years, and that is applicable to many of these individuals. It’s also an opportunity, as it is in any White House, to bring in new faces, new voices, and new perspectives.”
However, the Washington Post reported last weekend that former staffers see Harris as a “bully” who dishes out “soul-destroying criticism” on a regular basis.
The Rasmussen survey was conducted on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 and interviewed 1,000 likely US voters. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.