The Democrats are in trouble if they run Joe Biden again in 2024. As I wrote the other day, he’s already put us in terrible trouble with his handling of things. He’s already deteriorated so much — and by the time he has to campaign in 2024, he’ll be in even worse shape.

But unfortunately for the Democrats, their alternatives are not great. Among those alternatives is Biden’s “second” — Kamala Harris, known for her word salads and her cackles, but not much else. Indeed, it would be hard to point to one solid achievement that she’s had since she came into office. She was given the task of the border and she’s not done one thing that seems to have improved the situation.

So when an audience was told that they should “stand when she enters the room” and she came out, the reaction wasn’t exactly a rousing cheer. Indeed, it was barely a couple of folks, politely putting their hands together. They had to be encouraged to clap, in a humiliating Jeb! kind of a moment.

"You can clap. It's okay." pic.twitter.com/BiB6E0rf1v

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 23, 2023

“You can clap, it’s okay,” they were told. Even when told they could clap, there was only a smattering of claps in the audience.

Let’s compare this with former President Donald Trump visiting East Palestine, where he breaks away from a conversation to go to the residents calling out to him.

"We love you, President Trump!"

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, show their appreciation for Trump during his visit. pic.twitter.com/CtRdCozjty

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023

Part of the problem is, just like with Joe Biden, there’s not a lot of “there there,” and what their team has done has truly hurt the American people. So one has to think that people can’t truly feel enthusiastic for either of them.

She continued to pander and cackle her head off to the audience who were from historically black colleges and universities as she spoke about her “Divine Nine” family. Divine Nine references the National Pan-Hellenic Council encompassing the nine black sorority and fraternity organizations.

KAMALA HARRIS: "There were people looking at each other like, 'What's Divine Nine?' And I thought to myself, 'You about to find out.'"

*laughs hysterically* pic.twitter.com/EofhvhEJdj

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 23, 2023

And what would a Kamala Harris experience be without an ode to the Venn Diagram? I wonder what the audience must have been thinking through this one. I have to think they were checking their watches and wondering how much longer this was going to go on. She always talks to people like they’re five years old.

Kamala Harris gets VERY animated as she discusses climate change "in the context of a Venn diagram":

"I'm telling you — it's FASCINATING!" pic.twitter.com/Pd4J62SSpY

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 23, 2023

The day before, Harris told this outright lie about people’s energy bills.

Kamala Harris claims Biden has "reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pocket."

What is she talking about? Electricity is up 11.9%, fuel oil is up 27.7%, and natural gas is up 26.7% over last year. pic.twitter.com/eja3ER4rr3

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 22, 2023

“For working families, we have reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pockets to buy things like school supplies, replace the dishwasher or take a family vacation,” Harris claimed during a speech in Maryland.

The reality is far different.

Since January 2021, residential electricity prices have increased from 12.62 cents per kilowatthour to 15.64 cents per kilowatthour, a nearly 24% jump, according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration. Across all sectors, the average price of electricity has increased more than 22% in that same time span.

And the average spot price for natural gas surged to $6.45 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2022 after increasing to $3.89 per MMBtu in 2021, federal data showed. The annual average price of natural gas never surpassed $3.15 per MMBtu under the Trump administration.

Indeed, people are struggling just to keep up with the increases in energy costs — applications for low-income energy assistance had surged from 4.9 million to 6.2 million, the largest one-year increase since 2009.

The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA) –- a group that advocates for policies that ease energy price burdens on low-income Americans — said everything was going up.

“Based on NEADA’s analysis of home energy prices, households will face significant increases in home heating expenditures this winter compared to last year,” the Jan. 30 report stated. “On average, households will pay 12.7% more for home heating this winter.”

“Heating oil expenditures are projected to have the largest increase relative to the other fuels, with a 25.9% increase, which is nearly $500 more than the 2021-22 winter heating season,” it continued. “Natural gas expenditures may also see a significant jump of 14.5% more than last year, more than an additional $100.”

You might be able to lie to some people about some things. But one of the things you are going to have a lot of trouble trying to sell people is that you are saving them money when they know you are not. They know what’s coming out of their pockets every day and they know how much everything has gone up under the Harris-Biden administration.

No wonder Democrats are thinking they might be up a creek without a paddle come 2024. It’s either doddering old Joe who they then have to pretend isn’t falling apart if they can’t force him to step out of the way, or a very uncertain field of not-very-satisfactory people.