“It wasn’t great,” said one longtime Biden ally. “A little cringeworthy too. I don’t know how they weren’t preparing for these questions.” Another ally was blunt: “It was terrible. I don’t know how else to say it.”... “It makes her an easy target and a heat shield, and obviously that wasn’t the intention,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “With an issue like immigration, it's very easy to find threads to pull on to scapegoat people, and that’s what her team is desperately trying to avoid right now.” One Democratic strategist said there is clearly a “failure of strategy on how to position the vice president on the issue” and it’s apparent in how they handled sending Harris on her first foreign trip. “It makes her look a little listless,” the strategist said. “It’s an issue you can’t win on.”