FLIP-FLOPPING Kamala Harris is constantly haunted by the issue of immigration, says Andrew Neil.
The esteemed British journalist believes that Harris, 60, hasn’t convinced many undecided American voters yet with less than 24 hours to go before the presidential polls open.
YouTubeAndrew Neil spoke on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots about the elections and said many voters are still unsure on Kamala Harris’ authenticity[/caption]
Harris is constantly haunted by the issue of immigration, says Andrew NeilAP:Associated Press
ReutersTrump has labelled Harris a ‘border czar’ in the past for her role on immigration policies[/caption]
Andrew Neil told The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole on Never Mind The Ballots that he thinks the safe vote is still in the hands of the Democrat’s leader.
But says she is still a risk for millions of unsure voters due to her inauthenticity and track record with major political issues – especially immigration.
As Vice President, Harris was tasked with coming up with solutions to America’s immigration issues for several years.
Many feel not enough was done during her time under Joe Biden with rival Donald Trump even labelling her as a “border czar” in the run-up to November 5.
Trump has constantly tried to blame Harris for the immigration issues over the past four years.
He also claims she has overstated her diplomatic tasks as Vice President and not managed to reduce the root problems with migration from South America.
Despite Trump’s accusations Harris has been committed to bringing in more Border Patrol agents to keep an eye on people entering the US illegally.
She says when she is elected the bill will be pushed through Congress to maintain order across the border.
Harris has also vowed to increase the number of asylum officers, immigration judges and immigration detention beds.
Many voters remain sceptical over Harris’ position in regards to immigration after the Biden administration appeared to lack much conviction to sending away illegal immigrants.
Trump on the other hand is very clear on his stance with immigrants as he has labelled all illegal immigrants as criminals in the past.
Speaking on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballot’s YouTube show, Andrew Neil said: “I think the American people still see her (Harris) as a risk because they don’t quite know what she really stands for. They don’t quite know what they’re getting.
“She hasn’t cut through and I think a lot of the times that’s because she is not authentic enough.
“I mean Trump is authentic and I think Trump can be authentic in a bad way but he is authentic. She is not.
“Hanging over it all is immigration. I think immigration haunts her like no other issue.
“Sending them to cities like New York, Washington DC and Chicago has nationalised the issue so it is no longer just a boarder state issue.
“She was put in charge of that by Mr Biden and although as the election loomed by executive order a number of tougher things were done on immigration it only raises the question of why didn’t you (Harris) do that right away.”
YouTubeNeil spoke with The Sun’s Harry Cole about the upcoming election[/caption]
GettyMany voters may fear Harris will continue to deal with immigration in a similar way to how she did as Joe Biden’s VP, says Neil[/caption]
It comes as The Sun revealed that almost half of Americans say Harris was an ineffective Vice President, according to an exclusive poll.
Harris has attempted to walk the line between pushing her record as Joe Biden’s VP for the past four years while still claiming that she represents a break with the past.
In her Fox News interview last month, Harris said her presidency wouldn’t be a “continuation” of Biden’s.
Yet The U.S. Sun’s poll shows voters’ negative views of her performance as VP still remain.
Of respondents, nine per cent said Harris has been “Somewhat ineffective” as the Vice President, while a third (33 per cent) said she had been “Very ineffective.”
Pollsters still believe the battle between Trump and Harris is extremely close.
Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are currently too close to call as the crucial swing states.
Their combined 93 electoral college votes will push either Trump or Harris over the finish line.
But polling shows both hopefuls are within just two points of each other in the undecided states.
Pennsylvania in particular is showing just a 0.8 per cent margin in Trump’s favour, according to polling from RealClearPolitics.
How do the US presidential elections work?
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
The Democratic and Republican parties nominate their candidates with a series of votes – called state primaries and caucuses – in the run up to the election in November, held every four years.
This gives members the opportunity to choose who they want to lead the party into an election – this year, Donald Trump and following Biden’s resignation, Kamala Harris.
There are also some independent candidates running for president – arguably the most well-known was Robert F Kennedy Jr who pulled out in August and endorsed Trump.
In US elections the winner is not the candidate who gets the most votes across the country.
Instead Trump and Harris will compete to win smaller contests held in each of the 50 states.
Many of the states often vote the same way – but seven of them – Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona – tend to go in either direction.
Each state has a number of electoral college votes – partly based on population sizes – with a total of 538 across the country up for grabs.
The winner is the candidate that gets 270 or more, marking a majority in the electoral college.
All but two of the US’ 50 states – Maine and Nebraska – have a winner-takes-all rule.
Meaning whichever candidate gets the highest number of votes wins all of the state’s electoral college votes.
In 2016 Hillary Clinton won more votes nationally than Donald Trump – but she still lost the election because of electoral college votes.
The candidate who will win this election is the one who secures 270 or more college ballots.
Usually the winner is declared on the night, but it can take days to finalise the result.
In 2020 Joe Biden wasn’t officially announced as the president-elect until November 7.
The new president will be sworn into office in January on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC.