President Joe Biden ignited a social media frenzy Friday with his overly enthusiastic affection for embattled Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Hi Kamala, I love you,” Biden said robotically to his veep, while the two delivered remarks at a virtual meeting of the Democratic National Committee. “You always have my back. You are really amazing. You’re the best partner I could imagine.”
“I do,” Harris replied awkwardly.
“What a team,” the DNC said of the appearance. But Twitter erupted with disdain for the exchange.
“Wildly creepy and beyond phony,” tweeted @LawyerNY.
“Gross. Fake and gross,” @GinnyGinny_1 posted to Twitter.
“Nauseating,” wrote @Warriors_Mom.
The president’s remarks appeared intended to boost support for Harris, who has suffered internal dissent in her office, several PR gaffes and historically low approval ratings in recent weeks and months.
The vice president, a former California senator, enjoys only a 39-percent favorability rating among registered voters, according to a poll released this week by the LA Times. Her disapproval rating stands at 53 percent.
Her approval rating is 10 points lower than that of her predecessor, Mike Pence, a year into the Trump Administration; and a startling 55 points lower than Dick Cheney’s approval ratings at the same point in the George W. Bush Administration, four months after the 9/11 terror attacks.