Harris told to raise profile – or risk fate of Clinton

DEMOCRATS have urged Kamala Harris to hit the road to become more visible amid fears she could suffer the same fate as Hillary Clinton.

Allies have leaped to defend the vicepresident’s performance, following historically low popularity in the polls.

Democratic strategists close to Ms Harris, 57, said they are now mounting a full-throttled defence – as well as offering her strategies to fight back.

Many are aggrieved by what they see as parallels with the treatment of Mrs Clinton, who partially blamed her 2016 election defeat to Donald Trump on sexism and “double standards”.

Ms Harris has also faced regular attacks on social media platforms, as well as criticisms from within the White House of her performance and claims of dysfunction in her office.

The attacks have rattled supporters of Ms Harris, who had been considered Joe Biden’s heir apparent.

“To use a sports analogy, she’s one of the best players the administration has,” one Harris insider said. “I think you’ll continue to see her doing that.”

The idea has also been publicly voiced by Donna Brazile, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. “Keep Air Force 2 gassed up and ready to go,” she joked recently. Supporters have pointed to the success of her recent visit to France.

Focus on Ms Harris’s political future is acute given doubts over whether Mr Biden, who turned 79 yesterday, will seek a second term. That was underscored on Friday, when he briefly transferred power to Ms Harris while undergoing a colonoscopy.

“We see that a lot of people are treating Kamala Harris the same way they treated Hillary Clinton, which is attempting to end her political career in a death by a million cuts,” said Bakari Sellers, a former Democratic congressman.