Thread by @emilymiller

If Jen Psaki hadn't tweeted to defend VP, I would've missed this fascinating CNN story about the White House not caring enough about Harris to defend her.

I read it all so you don't have to...

thread 1/
cnn.com/2021/11/14/pol…

key West Wing aides have largely thrown up their hands at VP Kamala Harris and her staff -- deciding there simply isn't time to deal with them right now, especially at a moment when Pres Joe Biden faces quickly multiplying legislative and political concerns. - CNN 2/

I luvvv how the real VP is exactly like @VeepHBO

3/

Many in the vice president's circle fume that she's not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined. The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she's able to do politically. #VEEPorVP 4/

VP Harris is struggling with a rocky relationship with some parts of the White House, while long-time supporters feel abandoned and see no coherent public sense of what she's done or been trying to do as vice president. #VEEPorVP 5/

"Defenders and people who care for Harris are getting frantic." - CNN

#VEEPorVP 6/

After VP Harris became known in the first few months for often standing by Biden's side in the frame as he made big speeches, even after she'd introduced him herself, the West Wing appears to have overcorrected so she has been with the Pres noticeably less. - CNN

#VEEPorVP 7

(This one has no reference to explain it.)

"Harris has helped to detect concerns from outside the Beltway and has attempted to give political cover to members worried about losing their seats after voting for the legislation."

#VEEPorVP 8/

"Perhaps, one Harris aide offered, the issue is that some in the West Wing don't have constant knowledge of what the vice president's team is doing." [real lol]

#VEEPorVP 9/

"Harris has also complained to confidants about not being a greater part of the Pres's approach to the Afghanistan withdrawal -- despite telling CNN at the time she was the last one in the room when he made the decision..." [what?!]

#VEEPofVP 10/

And though Kamala Harris has told confidants that she has been enjoying a good working dynamic directly with Biden, those who work for them describe their relationship in terms of settling into an exhausted stalemate. - CNN

#VEEPofVP 11/

West Wing aides were mad when... VP Kamala Harris made a sudden trip to the border after her staff gave only a few days warning to the White House, particularly after aides had taken time to knock down the idea that she should go as half-baked Republican spin- CNN

#VEEPorVP 12/

"The DNC hired a contract consultant in part to help with the Harris portfolio. That has not been going well either... with Harris' staff usually only reaching out to ask for buffering tweets after problems or negative stories arise..."

#VEEPorVP 13/

"They blame reporters they see as chasing incessantly negative stories and playing into undeniable structural issues of race and gender." - CNN on VP Harris friends and supporters

#VEEPorVP 14/

"In and around Harris' circle, they speculate that there must be someone getting in her way.

Some think it's the President himself leaving her out in the cold, prioritizing his own agenda."

#VEEPorVP 15/

This one is so much like the HBO show, you need to read it
#VEEPorVP 16/

VP gave Rev. Al Sharpton "a birthday cake and gently danced to the music playing over the speakers as he prepared to cut it, she seemed- as she rarely does at public events these days- happy and relaxed."

Sharpton told CNN it was one of her "better public appearances."
17/

"CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to more clearly reflect how the vice president's budget is controlled." - CNN

18/18 g'nite #VEEPorVP