Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dodged several questions about Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday’s episode of “Anderson Cooper 360.”
Host Anderson Cooper asked Pelosi if Harris was “the president’s best running mate,” but Pelosi declined to answer in the affirmative. (Related: Report: Kamala Harris plans to launch massive campaign for Biden’s 2024 run despite criticism from Democrats)
“He thinks so, and that’s what matters,” Pelosi said.
“Do you think so?” Cooper asked again.
“By the way, she’s very politically astute,” Pelosi quipped again. “I don’t think people appreciate her enough.”
Pelosi added that Harris is trying to be “consistent” with President Joe Biden’s values.
“People don’t understand that she’s politically astute. Why else would she become vice president? But when she was running for attorney general of California , she was getting 6 percent in the polls, 6 percent in the polls, and she made a politically astute case for why she was good, did politics, and became attorney general. So people shouldn’t underestimate what Kamala Harris brings to the table,” Pelosi said.
Cooper tried again to press her on whether Harris was the best partner for Biden. Pelosi again avoided the question, instead commenting on the vice president’s general duties.
“But do you think she’s the best vice presidential candidate?” Cooper asked.
“She’s the vice president of the United States. People say to me, ‘Why doesn’t she do this or that?’ She said it’s because she’s the vice president. That’s the job description. It doesn’t do all that much. You are a source of strength, inspiration, intellectual resources, and more. And, sir, I think she has represented our country well at home and abroad,” Pelosi responded.
Harris has struggled with low approval ratings throughout her tenure as vice president. Her fellow Democrats have been reluctant to publicly praise or defend her performance in response to questions from the media. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has made her concerns about Harris’ possible presidential bid central to her pitch for the White House.
