Vice President Kamala Harris will reportedly not be campaigning with her soon-to-be former boss, President Joe Biden, going into Election Day.
Three Harris campaign officials confirmed to NBC News the Harris campaign has no plans for Biden to appear alongside his vice president on the campaign trail. The officials said Biden will instead be working behind the scenes to leverage some of his “longtime political relationships, specifically with labor leaders, and holding official White House events that highlight his administration’s record.”
The Harris campaign and Biden officials agreed that it would be most beneficial to the vice president if Biden simply performed his job as commander-in-chief effectively, which would then give Harris an incumbency edge going into Election Day.
“He’s out there doing the job as president, and she’s out there campaigning,” a campaign. official told NBC News. “It’s clear voters want something new.”
“Harris has to be establishing herself as a change agent, and it’s hard to do that with a sitting president at her side,” one Democratic strategist said.
Harris told journalist Bret Baier in a recent interview on Fox News that she would not be a continuation of her predecessor.
“My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and, like every new president that comes in to office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas. I represent a new generation of leadership,” Harris told him.
“I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C. I invite ideas, whether it be from the Republicans who are supporting me, who were just on stage with me minutes ago, and the business sector, and others who can contribute to the decisions that I make,” she added.
A recent NBC News poll also found that just “25 percent of voters said Biden’s presidency has helped them and their families, with 45 percent saying his time in office has hurt them.”
“When it comes to Trump’s time in office, on the other hand, 43 percent of voters said it helped them and their families, versus 31 percent who said his presidency hurt them,” added NBC News.
