In a recently published interview clip, Comedy Central host Charlamagne tha God asked Vice President Kamala Harris who the “real” president was — and her forceful response underscored a deep anxiety Democrats have heading into 2022.
“I want to know who the real president of this country is: Is it Joe Biden or Joe Manchin?” Charlamagne asked Harris on Comedy Central’s “Tha God’s Honest Truth,” in a clip from an interview scheduled to air in full on Friday.
The television host’s question was framed as a provocation — and it was received as such.
Initially, despite the fact that Harris appeared to begin responding, an aide intervened claiming that Harris couldn’t hear the question and attempted to end the interview. The interjection seemed to imply the aide might be concerned about the position the question would put Harris in. But eventually Harris went on to say she could hear Charlamagne, and she responded to his question with agitation and even some fluster.
Harris aide briefly interjects as @cthagod asks @VP to name the “real president … is it Joe Manchin or Joe Biden?” pic.twitter.com/FRkIyxjRuP
— Katherine Doyle (@katiadoyl) December 18, 2021
“Come on, Charlamagne, come on. It’s Joe Biden. No, no, no no, no,” Harris said. “No. No. No. No. It’s Joe Biden, and don’t start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he’s president.”
“And it’s Joe B-, Joe B-, Joe Biden, and I’m vice president, and my name is Kamala Harris,” she continued. “And the reality is because we are in office, we do … the things like the child tax credit which is going to reduce Black child poverty by 50 percent.”
Harris then returned to composure as she cataloged the administration’s policy priorities that it has passed into law or that it’s looking to enact, including criminal justice reform, cleaning up drinking water, investing in public transit and lowering prescription drug costs.
Part of Harris’ moment of frustration was a concern that Charlamagne was giving credence to a Trumpian talking point by questioning Biden’s legitimacy as president.
But of course Charlamagne’s inquiry wasn’t about the literal matter of who inhabits the White House, but rather which figure wields the power of a president in light of Manchin’s de facto veto power over legislation in the Senate, most recently over the Build Back Better Act. Harris and many top Democrats are alarmed about these kinds of narratives: As the administration faces strong political headwinds, they’re concerned the public will not understand what they’ve accomplished and what they should get credit for as the midterm elections approach.








