United States Kamala Harris, who started with high expectations as Vice President, has remained in an invisible role – the challenge is Joe Biden

Horrible Harris made history in January when she started as the first female vice president of the United States. Many experts expected Harris to take over as president Joe Biden a more prominent role in the administration, especially due to Biden’s advanced age.

Now the first year of Harris ’term is soon to be filled, and it’s easy to see that his profile has been lower than expected. Harris has had no clear aspect of his own in the administration, and he has been downright invisible to the general public.

“Quite a lot of his work has gone into such a traditional role as vice president. He goes to open exhibitions, visits abroad whenever the president himself is not light, and receives guests. There is not very strong political content there, especially one that would show some kind of own line, ”says the dissertation researcher at the University of Jyväskylä Jani Kokko.

Vice President the role has varied greatly throughout U.S. history because the law does not impose any exact requirements on the task. In recent decades, however, the relative influence of vice presidents has been on the rise.

The new, stronger role of the Vice President developed in particular George W. Bushin acting as Vice-President Dick Cheneyn for the period 2001-2009 and Barack Obaman Vice President Biden for the 2009-2017 term. They had an exceptional amount of influence over the president’s politics.

“Harris does attend meetings, but he clearly doesn’t have as much weight in the president’s own politics as these predecessors,” Kokko says.

“Biden has now wanted to be on top of everything in a way.”

To Biden’s presidency Donald Trumpin administration and its Vice-President Mike Penceen Koko finds it difficult to compare because it was such an unusual administration. Pence’s job was essentially to serve as Trump’s ambassador to the religious wing of the Republicans and secure the support of this group.

Harrisin, 57, Kokko thinks that the challenge may be that Biden, 79, is so experienced himself. Harris rose to vice president after four years as a senator. Biden, for his part, has served for 36 years as a senator and eight years as vice president. He knows both roles thoroughly, making it harder for Harris to add value in this regard.

“He doesn’t need help, so to speak, at least in his own opinion, anywhere,” Kokko says.

The situation is completely different from the Obama term, when he was elected president after a four-year senator term without any foreign policy experience. Biden played a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the Obama administration, and as an experienced Senate, he was also an important link in the twists and turns of Congress.

Slightly the same setup came true during George W. Bush’s presidency. Bush, elected to the White House from the place of governor of Texas, was exhausted by experience in the politics of the kingdom. The more experienced Cheney was cleared to gain a strong position in the administration.

“After all, Cheney decided on a foreign and security policy line and was still involved in energy policy issues. Now that the president is so experienced and has a long career, there may not have been a similar need and vacuum that Harris would then fill. ”

Jamaican as the daughter of a father and an Indian mother, Harris made history not only as a gender but also as the first vice president belonging to a minority. Harris’s election thus had strong symbolism, and he brought considerably more diversity to the Democratic election campaign alongside the old white man Biden.

However, Kokko sees that Harris has so far remained a kind of symbol in the administration.

When Biden elected himself a vice presidential candidate last year, one of the final candidates was a former U.S. ambassador and national security adviser. Susan Rice. Size thinks Rice, for example, could have been a better choice because she could have supported Biden better in Harris on foreign policy issues.

Some experts expected Harris to take on a role as a black American and former attorney general in dealing with race issues, but even in this area, his profile has remained low.

Harrisin with Biden’s election victory as vice president, she became Biden’s biggest favorite in the eyes of many and possibly the first female president in the United States. Some expected him to run for president as early as 2024 if elderly Biden resigned after one term.

Now, however, the situation has changed to some extent due to Harris ’invisibility and weak personal support.

“He is no longer such an unequivocal follower,” says Kokko.

Harris has built his political career carefully, and caution and avoiding mistakes could also be part of a conscious strategy. In size’s opinion, however, the current situation does not work in Harris’ favor.

“I don’t think Harris would have any intention of staying away. His support figures are very low. This is not a terribly strong foundation for being a presidential candidate. ”

Harris’ position has also been complicated by Biden’s announcement that he intends to run for a second presidency. The incumbent president is not usually challenged within his own party, so the next realistic presidential opportunity for rival Democrats would not be until 2028. By then, many new challengers will have time to enter the arena, so Harris will not be easy to maintain his place as mantle heir.

Harris himself ran for Democrat presidential candidacy in the 2020 election, but after a strong start, his support quickly collapsed and he withdrew from the race before the primary election began.