President Joe Biden’s relationship with his No. 2 has deteriorated since she replaced him atop the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ team has experienced increased tension with Biden’s staff, nearly a dozen people familiar with the situation. detailed to Axios in a new report.
While his advisers say Biden and his team want Harris to win in November, many have lingering bruises from the president’s ouster from his re-election bid.
“They’re too deep in their feelings,” a Harris ally said of Biden’s team.
In recent weeks, the conflict has reached public opinion and some actions have drawn attention to the tension between the president and his vice president.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have a widening gap after she replaced her boss in the 2024 election.
For example, Biden made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room for the first time on Friday, at the same time Harris was preparing for a campaign event in Michigan.
This ensured that the vice president’s event received less time and television coverage than it would otherwise.
Even former Republican President Donald Trump sees the crack in the White House.
“He can’t stand her for one simple reason: She overthrew him,” Trump said of the relationship between Biden and Harris.
“But she didn’t do it, the party did,” he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. “It was really a coup d’état. I mean, he’s a very angry guy. I think he looks better now because now we compare him to her.’
Some Harris aides say White House staff are intentionally not working with Biden’s messaging and timeline to align with what would best benefit the candidate’s 2024 campaign, according to the Axios report.
“The White House is missing someone in the room who is thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign,” a person from Harris’ campaign said.
Last week, Harris criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to take her calls about hurricane relief efforts and criticized him for calling her outreach “politically motivated.”
Even former President Donald Trump says he can see how angry Biden is about being forced out of his re-election bid.
Shortly after, Biden praised the Republican governor for being “courteous” and “cooperative” during their calls.
Frustration is also growing as Harris’ team looks to beef up to handle the increased workload, but White House staff are delaying hiring people.
A White House official insisted to Axios: “Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated that several staff members would want to transition from administration to campaign in the final stretch.” .
Biden faced huge pressure from his party to abandon his re-election campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.
For about a month, the president rejected the pressure, saying he intended to keep it up until November.
But on July 21, Biden announced on X that he would end his candidacy and endorsed his number 2 to take charge of the campaign.