American voters would not approve of a Kamala Harris presidency, poll finds
American voters have indicated they would not approve of Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, becoming commander-in-chief, according to an exclusive poll.
Only 28 per cent of poll respondents agreed that Ms Harris should be president, while 44 per cent of respondents disagreed, based on an Independent poll commissioned with JL Partners.
When polling people voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, 44 per cent said they would support a Harris presidency while 20 per cent said they would not.
The vice president candidates have been in a more prominent position compared to past elections due to the ages of Mr Biden, who is 77, Â and Donald Trump, who is 74. Either candidate would be the oldest person to win a presidential election.Â
Ms Harris, a California Democratic senator and former state attorney general, became the first woman of colour to run as vice president on a major political party’s ticket after Mr Biden selected her as his running mate in August 2020.
The results of the recent Independent poll, which surveyed 1,002 Americans from 26 October to 28 October, may not come as a huge surprise given Ms Harris dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary after not gaining enough support from voters.
But the poll also could show how Mr Trump’s rhetoric against the vice president candidate might be impacting voters' impression of the senator.
Ms Harris has faced attacks from the president since she was announced on the Democratic Party’s ticket alongside Mr Biden.
When speaking to reporters in August 2020, Mr Trump said Ms Harris was "extraordinarily nasty" against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. He also said her attacks on Mr Biden during the Democratic primary debates were "very, very nasty".
She’s also faced accusations of being a “socialist†from the president, who has attempted to fearmonger voters into thinking America would turn to socialism if Mr Biden were elected as president.
"We're not supposed to have a socialist ... We're not going to have a socialist president, especially a female socialist president," he said when targeting Ms Harris.
During a 25 October campaign rally, Mr Trump mocked Ms Harris’ interview for 60 Minutes by asking if there was something wrong with her.
“Did you see [Joe Biden’s] performance on that show? The only thing almost as bad was Kamala, with the laugh. ‘Haha, that’s so funny. Hahaha.’ She kept laughing. I said, ‘Is there something wrong with her, too?’†Mr Trump said.
Ms Harris has also faced birther accusations, briefly promoted by the president, that claimed she was not born in the US and therefore would not be allowed to run in the presidential race. These accusations were false.
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