Harris continues to break with Biden despite GOP efforts to paint her as the incumbent – Washington Examiner
Vice President Kamala Harris is navigating a complicated relationship with President Joe Biden’s administration as she campaigns for the presidency. Republicans are attempting to frame her as a central figure in the administration’s decisions, which has prompted her to distinguish her candidacy from Biden’s leadership. Despite wanting to assert her independence, Harris aims to maintain loyalty to Biden, who has consistently praised her contributions to the administration.
Harris openly stated her desire to create a space between herself and Biden for electoral success but does not want to distance herself too far. Their joint public appearances since Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race have been limited, with only one campaign event together.
Harris has also publicly addressed key issues, like rejecting electric vehicle mandates in light of a Trump campaign ad that misrepresented her stance on gas-powered cars. The Republican narrative has increasingly referred to the administration as the “Harris administration,” a shift in tactic as she has gained prominence in the race.
Additionally, recent reports and analyses, especially regarding the controversial Afghanistan withdrawal, indicate a notable increase in references to Harris in political discourse since she became a Democratic nominee. This highlights her growing visibility and the challenges she faces in campaigning while managing her association with Biden’s administration.
Harris continues to break with Biden despite GOP efforts to paint her as the incumbent
Vice President Kamala Harris has been walking a fine line between her candidacy and her role in President Joe Biden’s administration as Republicans try to pin the administration’s doings on her, rather than the president.
Top aides to the Vice President told CNN that Harris wants to create space between herself and Biden for winning purposes, but not too much space, as she wants to remain loyal.
“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden,” Harris said at the presidential debate after former President Donald Trump said, “She is Biden.”
Biden, meanwhile, continues to praise her role in the White House.
“She was a major player in everything we’ve done, including the passage of legislation which we were told we could never pass,” Biden said. “She’s been, and her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we’re doing.”
Since Biden exited the presidential race, he and Harris have made numerous joint appearances in their official capacities but only one joint campaign appearance. Biden joined Harris for a September campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to argue that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned.
She has also said she would not support electric vehicle mandates in response to a Trump campaign ad running in Michigan that claims, “Kamala Harris wants to end all gas-powered cars.”
“Michigan, let us be clear: Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,” Harris said. Earlier this year, the Biden administration used the Environmental Protection Agency to enact regulations and estimates that more than two-thirds of passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2032 will be electric or hybrid vehicles.
Republicans now frequently refer to the Biden administration as the Harris administration or Harris-Biden administration or make a point to bring her name into the administration, a move they did not do before she entered the race.
In a report on the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) previously focused his investigation mainly on Biden and top White House and State Department officials, but included Harris’s name frequently throughout the final report as she became the nominee. In 2022, the 115-page interim report on his investigation referred to Harris by name only twice, while the final report, which was released four weeks after Harris became the Democratic nominee, mentions her at least 251 times.
During the vice presidential debate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) repeatedly called it the “Kamala Harris administration,” rather than the Biden administration.
Still, in Harris’s efforts to distance herself from some elements of Biden’s administration, the contrast came to full view in the most recent Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
In September, Harris responded to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut with a statement saying while it was “welcome news for Americans who have borne the brunt of high prices,” there was still “work ahead to keep bringing prices down.” Biden was set to give a speech claiming victory for the rate cut, but aides toned down the speech following Harris’s statement, a personal familiar with the matter told CNN.
“The Fed lowering interest rates isn’t a declaration of victory,” Biden said. “It’s a declaration of progress. It’s a signal we’ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery.”
“I’m not here to take a victory lap. I’m not here to say, job well done. I’m not here to say, we don’t have a hell of a lot more work to do,” Biden said, echoing the vice president’s sentiments.
Vance blamed Harris for enacting policies that required rates to go higher, saying they went up in the first place “thanks to Kamala Harris’ policy.”
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