On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she doesn’t believe claims that she has been handed impossible tasks or “set up to fail”.
Harris appeared in an interview with CBS’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation”. She was asked about criticism from Democrats saying she was given a portfolio designed to work against her.
In response, Harris said “No, I don’t believe I’m being set up to fail”. “I’m the Vice President of the United States,” she added.
“Anything that I handle is because it’s a tough issue, and it couldn’t be handled at some other level. And there are a lot of big, tough issues that need to be addressed, and it has actually been part of my lifelong career to deal with tough issues and this is no different,” she said.
Harris did not comment on whether she believed the criticism had to do with her being a Black woman. “I’ll leave that for others to deal with,” she said. “I have a job to do, and I’m going to get that job done”.
Harris has also faced rumors of turmoil and staffing issues in her office. Some of the vice president’s top staffers announced their departure this year.
Communications director, Ashley Etienne and senior adviser to the vice president and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders both recently chose to leave the office.
A former staff member for Harris told The Washington Post this month that Harris is a “bully” who gives employees “a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism”.
The Vice President is being criticized for many of her answers in the CBS interview, including her response to being asked what her biggest failure has been this year. Harris said “to not get out of D.C. more” while laughing but noting her sincerity.