Vice President Kamala Harris's administration has hired veteran Democrat aide Stephanie Young as her senior advisor to handle messaging and outreach for the often-criticized Harris, her office said Friday.
Harris chief of staff Lorraine Voles announced the addition in an email to staff Friday afternoon:
In her new role, she will advise the Vice President on messaging and manage communications. Having previously served in the public engagement team of the Obama Administration, Stephanie will also leverage her previous experience to inform the outreach strategy and efforts of the office.
Young previously worked for the Obama White House, House Democratic Leadership and the Congressional Black Caucus. Most recently, she served as executive director of When We All Vote, a nonprofit started by Michelle Obama.
Harris has struggled with her image since becoming Vice President, with those on the right and left criticizing her inane speeches, gaffes, and that annoying cackle.
The addition of Young is an attempt to fix her image problems and comes at a time when Harris faces a likely re-election campaign at the side of President Joe Biden (although he hasn't actually announced a run yet).
If Young can't help Harris gain some traction in the way the public views her, Biden could decide to replace her on the ticket. But if Biden decides against running for a second term, Harris could be front and center as a presidential candidate herself.
Harris has never been popular with voters. She had to end her own 2019 presidential campaign before a single primary vote was cast due to lack of interest, but when Biden was looking for a Black woman to be his running mate, she was the least unpalatable candidate in a field that included Susan Rice, now national security adviser, and twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams.
It seems unlikely that anyone or anything will be able to rehabilitate Harris's image, given the number of times it has already been tried, but it would be really difficult for Biden to toss her aside without being accused of racism for doing it, however unjustified.
Harris still doesn't have a communications director after her second one, Jamal Simmons, left around New Year's for family reasons.
But it's really difficult to make Harris look good when she either sounds like a fawning schoolgirl, a scold, or an idiot when she talks.
Young is going to have her work cut out for her. Harris--and Biden--better hope she's as good as the Obamas think she is.
The sad truth is, Harris is no Michelle Obama, who manages to look and sound like a regular person while supporting a radical policy agenda and living in multi-million dollar mansions.
Maybe Young is Michelle's way of throwing the Democrat party a bone after repeatedly refusing to run for the presidency herself.
She's way more electable than Harris, but apparently too smart to take the job and give up her sweet life as an author, speaker, and Netflix producer. Can't say that I blame her.
