Remember when Kamala Harris was supposed to be so ready to take over the Oval Office that she might as well just set up her desk in there?
It seems like just yesterday Joe Biden and Harris were getting sworn in as the president and the next president ā an office formerly known as the vice presidency, which has now been sold as a trainee program for Harris, so sheās fully prepared for whenever Biden finally makes a whirring noise and shuts down.
In fact, Biden touted Harrisā readiness vigorously when he introduced her as his running mate in August of 2020, a not-so-subtle hint for Americans who were worried about Uncle Joeās continued seaworthiness. āKamala knows how to govern,ā he said, according to a Rev.com transcript. āShe knows how to make the hard calls. Sheās ready to do this job on day one, and weāre both ready to get to work, rebuilding this nation and building it better.ā
He would, on other occasions, make it clear he was talking about Harris being ready for the presidency on day one ā meaning she was just as ready for the job as he was. (Not that this was a particularly reassuring promise, but Joe sure thought it was.)
The numbers donāt lie, however. The Los Angeles Times recently compiled a trove of information regarding Vice President Harrisā calendar, and the U.K. Daily Mail went through it. Not only is Harris drifting further apart from President Biden, the data show sheās missed 206 presidential daily briefs in person since the Biden-Harris administration took over at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
In January, Biden made it clear Harris was to be included in these meetings. Biden is āreturning to the practice of having his Vice President join for the briefing when theyāre both in Washington,ā officials said, according to NBC News. A vice presidential aid further commented, saying Harris had attended Oval Office briefings Bidenās first week as president, āand that is the plan going forward.ā
Of the 275 presidential daily briefs ā many of which were in person ā between Jan. 20, the day of Bidenās inauguration, and Oct. 22, the last day the Los Angeles Times published her calendar data, Harris only attended 69.
And letās be clear: The presidential daily brief isnāt just the Oval Officeās version of that endless morning meeting where Paul canāt stop talking about the grandchildren while he updates everyone on project progress and Anna makes sure to remind everyone to CC her on the expense reports.
As the Intelligence Communityās website notes: āThe Presidentās Daily Brief (PDB) is a daily summary of high-level, all-source information and analysis on national security issues produced for the president and key cabinet members and advisers.ā
The daily brief āhas been presented in some form to the president since 1946, when President Harry S. Truman received the Daily Summary. Over the years, the PDB has evolved to meet the needs and preferences of each president and has expanded to include more information.ā
Harrisā attendance at the presidential daily briefs has also been slipping as time has gone on.
In February, she attended 15 and in March, 17. As of Oct. 22, sheād only attended two this month. In September, she attended five, and in August, Harris appeared at just two. All in all, 39 of the 69 briefings she attended were in the first three months of the administration.
To a certain extent, this mirrors the increased political distancing between Biden and Harris as the first year of the new administration has moved into autumn.
In February, for instance, Harris did 18 open press events with the president. That fell to just one in September and one in October. (In September, she appeared with the president for the commemoration of September 11; in October, it was for the anniversary of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.)
A former Harris adviser says the president and Vice President still donāt fully trust each other and Harris isnāt happy that āshe hasnāt been given any all-star portfolioā assignments, according to the Daily Mail.
The White House disputed the claims to the Daily Mail, arguing the schedule didnāt tell the full story: āThe Vice President keeps a busy schedule doing the work of the administration and always in support of the president,ā said Harris spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
āSometimes those events are together, other times apart, sometimes she is on the road amplifying the agenda of the administration and highlighting the importance of Build Back Better.ā
However, this wasnāt the bill of goods the Biden campaign was selling. Itās not even the bill of goods the administrationās been peddling, either.
The White House has made a big deal of calling this the āBiden-Harris administration,ā a double-billing no president in memory has applied to itself. They were supposed to be so close they were co-presidents, with Kamala being ready to take over on day one. That was the message.
The reality appears to be quite different, and looking at how often she attends the presidentās daily brief there is one question to ask: Feeling confident, America?
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.