After aiding Democrats in pushing him aside as the top candidate, Kamala Harris has distanced herself from Joe Biden, indicating she does not want him on her campaign trail. It appears the Vice President aims to avoid associating her campaign with her former boss’s presidency as Election Day nears.
Though Biden has been eager to campaign for Harris in the final weeks before the 2024 election, her campaign has reportedly kept him at bay, responding with vague promises to “circle back,” according to an Axios report.
“He’s a reminder of the last four years, not the new direction forward,” an anonymous campaign aide shared with the outlet.
As of now, with under two weeks to Election Day, there are no planned appearances where Harris, 60, and Biden, 81, will be campaigning together.
The president has made a few solo campaign appearances, including on Oct. 15 at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner, in New Hampshire last Monday, and in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Biden’s independent stop in Pittsburgh raised some eyebrows within Harris’ campaign team, as Axios also noted.
This distancing from Biden holds significance, given that his endorsement of Harris right after he withdrew from the race was crucial in helping her secure the Democratic nomination with minimal resistance.
“There is always speculation in political circles, but this is not accurate,” said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, addressing the report.
“We are in close touch with the campaign to work out when, where, and how the president’s support will be beneficial.”
Moreover, some Harris supporters were uneasy over Biden’s spontaneous remarks about “locking [Trump] up.”
“Politically, lock him up — lock him out, that’s what we’ve got to do,” Biden quickly added, but the comment only provided further ammunition to Trump and other Republican critics.
Biden has drawn comparatively less fanfare than prominent Democrats like former President Barack Obama, who recently visited Georgia and Michigan among other stops.
Biden has also been considering campaigning for Democrats facing Senate races in Delaware and Maryland.
As Biden seemingly remains at a distance, his ratings continue to falter, with the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate showing a 40.8% approval and a 56.6% disapproval.
Harris has carefully navigated questions about Biden, publicly commending his record while avoiding negative remarks, despite polling showing his popularity waning.
“To be very candid with you, even including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents,” Harris told NBC News, referring to Trump’s former vice president and characterizing this as “tradition.”
She stated on The View that there’s “not a thing” she would have done differently than Biden and has yet to clarify how a Harris-Walz administration would offer a notable shift from the Biden-Harris years.
