Kamala Harris dodges questions about political future

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris talked a lot, but said very little while being grilled about her political future Friday.

Harris, 58, wouldn’t say if she still wants to be president one day and sidestepped discussing GOP candidate Nikki Haley’s call for cognitive testing of politicians older than 75 — while also ducking queries from MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell about why the veep is so unpopular.

“You obviously ran for president in 2020 … Do you still want to be president someday?” Mitchell asked Harris, in Germany for this weekend’s Munich Security Conference.

“Joe Biden intends — has said he intends to run for re-election as president and I intend to run with him as vice president of the United States,” Harris replied.

The 80-year-old Biden would be 86 if he completes a full second term — and his mental acuity already is debated due to repeated instances where he appears confused or shares factually incorrect memories.

Mitchell, 76, asked Harris if she felt she might be part of a “new generation” of politicians to succeed Biden and 76-year-old former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a 2024 rematch.

“Nikki Haley announced she’s running for the Republican nomination and she says very pointedly it’s time for a new generation of politicians to lead our country — that’s very pointedly at both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, people over 75,” Mitchell said.

“Are you that next new generation for the Democrats if the president decides not to run?”

Harris deflected with an extensive answer hailing Biden — and saying of the former South Carolina GOP governor’s remark, “I think that is very coded language.”

Later in the interview, Harris clarified, “the attack is misplaced if the point of it is that we need leadership that is strong because we have a strong leader in Joe Biden.”

Mitchell then pressed Harris on her own low favorability rating — currently at 38.2%, according to the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls.

“Why do you think the president has such low popularity and favorable ratings, and you have even less favorable ratings?” Mitchell asked.

Harris said, in part, “I will tell you what I see when I’m out on the road, I see people thanking the president.”

Asked by Mitchell about fellow Democrats calling for Harris to be removed from the 2024 ticket, Harris said, “I think that it is very important to focus on the needs of the American people and not political chatter out of Washington, DC.”

Harris also addressed the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the US earlier this month — saying it was “not helpful” to US-China relations after saying in a separate interview earlier this week that she didn’t think it should have any impact on bilateral ties between Washington and Beijing.