“‘People say to me, “Why isn’t she doing this or that?” I said because she’s the vice president. That’s the job description. You don’t do that much.’”
That’s U.S. Representative and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharing her views on Kamala Harris with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. As part of a conversation Wednesday night about the 2024 presidential race, Cooper honed in on the oft-criticized vice president and specifically asked the Bay Area Democrat if Harris, her fellow California politician, should remain a part of the Democratic ticket with President Joe Biden.
Pelosi responded by saying, “He [Biden] thinks so. And that’s what matters.” But when Cooper pressed for more perspective, Pelosi delivered her comments about the vice president’s limited role.
On social media, some commentators took Pelosi’s remarks as a lack of support for Harris, saying by “dodging” Cooper’s question she was effectively condemning the vice president.
Consider this post on X (formerly known as Twitter):
Pelosi did, however, tell Cooper that she thought the vice president was “very politically astute,” noting that in Harris’ early career, she was able to win the race for California attorney general even though she was polling at only 6% at one point.
“I don’t think people give her [Harris] enough credit,” Pelosi said.
See also: Pelosi says she’ll seek re-election to House seat in 2024
Of course, Pelosi isn’t the first person — or the first politician — to note the vice president’s limited role.
John Nance Garner, who served as vice president under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, perhaps made the most damning remark on the subject. He supposedly said the vice presidency was “not worth a bucket of warm spit.” It was later noted that Garner may have actually used even stronger language, referring to the job as not worth a “warm bucket of piss.”
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