New York Times columnist Ezra Klein was the subject of mockery and criticism online after he suggested that the Biden administration is giving Vice President Kamala Harris “impossible problems” to solve.
The story: Klein made the comment in a tweet on Wednesday in response to a guest essay published in the New York Times by Fordham University political scientist Christina Greer.
The op-ed headlined “Dear Kamala Harris: It’s a Trap!” argued that the vice president is “taking on work that can easily backfire” and she is already under scrutiny from “right-wing commentators” for her performance on issues voting reforms and illegal immigration.
“Biden and his team aren’t giving her chances to get some wins and more experience on her ledger. Rather, it’s the hardest of the hard stuff,” Greer wrote.
“If she is somehow miraculously able to detangle the complex ‘immigration crisis,’ she will be heralded by some, but not all, as a success and worthy of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024,” the op-ed reads. “If she becomes only the latest leader (in either party) who cannot solve the problem, she specifically will be viewed as a failure.”
What he said: Klein agreed and suggested that the White House should give Harris easier tasks that are more likely to paint her in a good light so she has a better chance of winning potential presidential elections in the future.
“Kamala Harris will probably be the Democratic nominee in 24 or 28. Biden’s team should be giving her portfolios that make it likelier she’ll win. Instead they’re giving her impossible problems that will likely become liabilities,” Klein tweeted.
Critics on social media poked holes in Klein’s argument.
Worth noting: CNN’s political director David Chalian has also suggested that President Joe Biden is giving Harris “the toughest assignments.”
“If I was Vice President Harris and President Biden kept giving me the toughest assignments, I’d be like, ‘What’s up, dude?’” Chalian said on the CNN Political Briefing podcast earlier this month. “Add this now to her plate with immigration and she’s got some truly tough political battles ahead.”
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