Media top headlines June 9
The New York Times getting panned for its Mara Gay defense, a case of mistaken identity at Vice President Harris’ press conference, and a White House press corps flight being delayed by cicadas round out today’s top media headlines
Vice President Kamala Harris had a string of political stumbles significant enough that even CNN's liberal editor-at-large Chris Cillizza is admitting that she's "having a bad week."
Harris made negative headlines during her first foreign trip to Central America to address the "root cause" of the migration crisis at the U.S. southern border but was repeatedly pressed about whether she herself would visit the border after she was asked to tackle the issue by President Biden.
One exchange she had with NBC's Lester Holt received a lot of unwanted attention.
"At some point, you know, we are going to the border. We've been to the border," Harris said. "So this whole, this whole, this whole thing about the border. We've been to the border. We've been to the border.
"You haven't been to the border," Holt challenged her.
"And I haven't been to Europe," Harris uncomfortably chuckled. "I don't understand the point that you're making."
On Wednesday, Cillizza declared that the vice president's "smooth ride ended this week, thanks to a confluence of events -- some within her control, others not," calling her viral exchange with Holt "not great."
Cillizza also noted that Harris was additionally tasked to helm voting rights on behalf of the Biden administration, which hit a massive roadblock after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., expressed his opposition towards the Democrat-sponsored For the People Act and is standing firm with his support of keeping the filibuster intact.
"Unfortunately for her, it's not likely to be just a bad week," Cillizza wrote. "Manchin's opposition to the For the People Act, coupled with the complex challenges at the border -- there's a reason none of the last three presidents have been able to find a workable solution -- raise the possibility that Harris' two main priorities may not deliver her the sorts of wins a vice president with an eye on the top job might want."
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The CNN pundit insisted that Harris shouldn't worry about attacks she receives from Republicans since they are "heavily invested in demonizing Harris, and will find ways to do so no matter what the vice president says or does."
"What should concern Harris and her advisers is that her first foreign trip -- a heavily touted one no less -- did not go to plan. And her two domestic priorities, immigration and voting rights, appear to be stuck in neutral at best," Cillizza concluded.