Paranoid and afraid: New book delves into 'Rabbit Ears' Kamala Harris' farcical term as VP
WASHINGTON, DC: Vice-President Kamala Harris reportedly has "Rabbit Ears" for "any criticism," which has become a source of annoyance in Joe Biden’s White House, a bombshell new book claimed.
Journalist Franklin Foer's forthcoming book, 'The Last Politician', which is set to release on Tuesday, September 5, delves into Harris’ farcical term as Biden’s running mate.
It also reveals how she spent her time in that role fretting over her public image.
The 58-year-old Harris "let the criticism guide her," wrote Feor, adding that she has annoyed the President’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain by "making life excessively difficult by imposing all sorts of constraints on herself."
It is expected that Biden will reportedly keep her on the ticket for his re-election campaign in 2024.
However, Harris is said to have irked the administration by insisting on being exempt from "women's issues or anything to do with race" while also wanting her office to be majorly female with a Black woman as chief of staff.
Why is Kamala Harris said to have ‘Rabbit Ears’?
When Barack Obama picked Biden to serve as his running mate in 2008, it was widely believed the veteran senator had been chosen to shore up his somewhat inexperienced political background.
However, the same cannot be said about Harris, according to Foer, who argued that Biden "helped plug the gaps" in Obama's support but he "didn't need Harris in the same way Obama needed" him.
This has allegedly led to a disjointed run as VP where Harris has become paranoid about the optics of her run, Foer claimed, leading to what one of her colleagues described as "rabbit ears'' to criticism.
"Whenever there was a hint of criticism of her — either in the West Wing or in the press — she seemed instantly aware of it," he wrote, according to the Daily Mail.
"Rather than brushing it aside, she wanted to know who was speaking ill of her and what they were saying,” the journalist continued.
He continued by stating that when Harris “read a devastating story” on a news website “about her mismanagement of her team,” she “responded by briefly freezing out an aide whom she suspected of cooperating with reporters.”
What troubles did Kamala Harris face as Vice-President?
The forthcoming book further stated that the White House squabbles have seemingly distracted Harris from her high-profile assignments as she has struggled to commit when faced with a challenge.
"Instead of diligently sticking to the Central America assignment, she seemed to accept the conventional wisdom about it," Foer wrote.
He added, "It was a futile gig, so she let it fall to the side, missing an opportunity to grind her way to a meaningful achievement."
While many have seen Harris’ tenure as an uphill battle, Foer's analysis places some of the blame on Biden for failing to provide a platform for her success.
Foer wrote that Biden treated Harris with "impeccable respect" but he "simply didn't hand her the substantive role that he played in the Obama administration."
"At the beginning, he said that they would have weekly lunches. But those began to fall off the schedule,” Foer wrote.
Klain, who had previously worked for both Biden and Al Gore, was reportedly given the duty of introducing Harris to vice-presidential duties but Foer claimed “he struggled to productively help her.”
“Klain felt Harris kept making life excessively difficult by imposing all sorts of constraints on herself," Foer noted.
"She told him that she didn't want to work on women's issues or anything to do with race," Foer added, despite these issues seen by many as her strong suit.
"She wanted her office to be majority female — and to have a Black woman as chief of staff," he wrote, before stating that these requests allegedly irked Klain as he tried to help her.
Foer wrote that to "Klain's ear, she was creating too many rules, and they made it hard for her to find her footing."
According to Foer, this division has caused her to be "guided by staff whom she did not know and did not especially trust," and has turned on her image and the amount of responsibility she wants numerous times.