CNN —
Kamala Harris’ aides are trying to ensure just how close she is to Joe Biden as she looks for more ways to incorporate distance between her and Joe Biden in the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign. I’m still struggling with whether I can claim it.
But she continues to be drawn back to his side due to her official duties at the White House, and he continues to inject himself into the conversation.
Harris’ aides have also made new announcements about what she would do as president, with the aim of directly demonstrating marked differences, such as recent more outspoken speeches on abortion rights and tackling the southern border. I’m considering making plans and promises.
One of the vice president’s advisers said the “challenge” of having so little time left in such a short campaign is that “when you’re trying to appeal to undecided and disengaged voters, it’s difficult to actually engage with Biden.” It’s all about how you communicate the difference.”
Harris’ aides say they know it’s not a strong position to run as an extension of the president, but that’s what she stands for.
Neither Harris campaign aides nor President Biden intend to engage in any new joint campaign efforts between now and the election.
Aides say Harris wants to create space, but not too much space. She wants to be loyal, but she also wants to win. She still plans to lean on Biden. Biden is scheduled to fly to Milwaukee on Tuesday for an event touting additional projects made possible by his administration’s efforts, cheering on unionists or a political truce in the battleground region in the final weeks. Because it’s parked in Pennsylvania. But no one on the vice president’s team is upset that Mr. Biden is scheduled to spend an entire week abroad in October on impending diplomatic trips to Germany and Angola. Some wish he would stay away longer.
One reason leading Democrats are focused on Biden is because of widespread anxiety among Democrats that the vice president is not, or at least not yet, in the position needed to win in just over four weeks. They see him as someone who embodies emotions like an albatross. They are still haunted by the fallout from the 2016 election, and no matter how many of Donald Trump’s offensive statements, lies, lack of planning, and legal problems, they still can’t shake their support for him. I feel dissatisfied and hopeless.
“I’m going to go to my grave without knowing why, but it’s a race with a margin of error,” is a quote from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on the trail that epitomizes this sentiment.
Former president and vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, is trying to propel Harris into office by talking as if Harris has been signing executive orders for the past three years. The balance is difficult for the vice president, caught between devastated voters demanding change. Republicans respond to her new proposal by asking why it hasn’t been implemented yet. And the incumbent president has increased approval ratings in some of the core constituencies she needs.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Harris’ separate appearances on Wednesday to survey the damage from Hurricane Helen are similar to much of what is to come, and as Mr. Biden said on Friday, they are “on the same song sheet.” The two of them are rarely seen side by side.
Even that was a source of tension. Biden’s decision to visit North Carolina earlier in the week meant Harris had to postpone her own trip to the tightly contested state.
For Harris, no issue is more troubling than the escalating violence in the Middle East ahead of the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023: Hundreds of thousands of votes are at stake in the battleground state of Michigan alone, and various Leaders are pressing Harris: He has clearly distanced himself from Biden, a person familiar with the discussions told CNN. But her inner circle knows there’s no way daylight will shine when she’s sitting on his right hand in the Situation Room.
But the economy remains their most frustrating situation, with voters still dissatisfied with the recovery continuing to be stronger than almost all experts predicted. While Biden wants to take credit, Harris wants to talk about the pain people are feeling and how much more needs to be done to ensure that the suffering under the watch of this administration is not trivialized.
The situation came to a head in September, when Ms. Harris responded to the Fed’s interest rate cuts with a statement about how much more effort was needed. Biden’s aides had to negotiate for hours with White House aides to scale back the victory speech he was scheduled to deliver the next day, according to people familiar with the matter.
Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell wonders what role Biden could play in the final stages of Harris’ campaign, given how both the situation in Israel and economic grievances are spilling over into her home state. When asked if he wanted one, he said, “That’s a complicated question.”
Dingell, a longtime supporter of Biden, is once again sounding the alarm on Biden’s “blue wall” states, but declined to say more.
According to an internal Harris campaign study of September’s presidential debate, one of the vice president’s most popular moments was when she said, “Obviously, I’m not Joe Biden.”
On Friday, Biden took a different approach after several young White House aides complained to colleagues for weeks about having to implement statements and other ideas from the campaign. Ta.
“She has played a key role in everything we’ve done, including passing legislation that we were told we would never pass,” Biden said. “She’s always been that way, and her staff works with my staff on everything we do.”
Aides say Biden’s first appearance in the White House briefing room as president marks a week that will stop more violence in the Middle East, end the longshoremen’s strike and be good for Americans. The aim was to break the senses. Another strong monthly employment report has been released. He took pleasure in contemptuously laughing at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, now a staunch supporter of Trump, who called the jobs report “fake.”
Mr. Biden’s aides did not coordinate the surprise appearance with Ms. Harris’ campaign, but they did give her a few minutes’ notice.
Harris’ aides did not think this appearance was helpful. That was similar to how they felt Thursday, when Mr. Biden nudged into the news by walking up to reporters to praise a speech by former Rep. Liz Cheney, who supported Ms. Harris.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign and other prominent Republicans quickly criticized Biden for effectively treating Harris as a big name after she left the press conference two minutes after taking the stage at a campaign event in Detroit. did.
In mid-September, the Democratic Party’s research and polling initiative Blueprint conducted a national poll examining a long list of statements Harris might make about herself and Biden. The best-performing polls were those that “showed a clear disconnect between her and Biden,” and the worst-performing ones were “those that showed a clear disconnect between her and Biden,” and those that did worst were those that showed “a future Harris administration building on the gains of the Biden era.” “It was described as being.”
Polls have found that even if Harris’ position is the same, mentioning Biden reduces her approval rating.
Those numbers were communicated to Harris’ aides.
“She’s been unafraid to say where she’s different from him, and she has no problem with him,” said the former Biden campaign co-chair, who now holds the same role as Harris. said Mitch Landrieu, the president’s infrastructure coordinator. “They tried to associate Joe Biden negatively with her, but it didn’t work because she’s not him. She’s obviously younger than him, and she’s obviously a woman.”
A breakup with Trump would be far less awkward than one with Biden, and leading Harris supporters in battleground states told CNN it was the only real way out of what they called the “ultimate balancing act.” He said it might be possible.
“There’s a sharp contrast with Mr. Trump, and when that sharp contrast emerges, that’s a good thing. Every day people compare Donald Trump’s chaos to Kamala Harris’ views and values, it’s a good thing for Kamala Harris. It’s a good day,” said Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. “Joe Biden has brought a lot to Pennsylvania, especially in infrastructure and energy-related areas. Remember: Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we’ve done more than under Donald Trump. There were far more people working.”
Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, a longtime Biden ally who represents a Philadelphia-area district, also urged a focus on such things going forward.
“Every presidential election is about the next four years, not the past four years. Mr. Trump has been on our TV screens constantly for the past 10 years, and if re-elected he would be the oldest president in history.” I can confidently say that while Trump represents a tired old past, she represents the future,” Boyle said. “She has done an effective job in claiming the mantle of ‘candidate for change.'”
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was pleased to see the developments unfold as he accompanied Ms. Harris on a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border last week, where she met with local officials and delivered a speech that differed in setting and severity. said. More than anything Biden did.
“I think it’s fair to say that Arizonans want to know more about this issue, but at the end of the day it’s about making smart decisions, decisions that impact our communities.” said the Senate Democrat. “I don’t think the president and vice president are going to be exactly the same on every issue. I think she has a smart plan and is articulating it well.”
Kelly said he thinks it’s effective that Harris shares her experience as a former border state attorney general and has a plan centered around actually advancing bipartisan legislation.
So while “I’m not looking at comparing her to the president,” Kelly said, “there’s a big difference between her and Donald Trump on this issue.”
Biden seeks honor, insists he’s not precious
For Biden, as is often the case with him, this final stretch is a whirlwind of politics and psychology.
The president has remained largely at peace with his decision to withdraw from the campaign this summer, but his fears for the future of American democracy could come true if Trump wins, and as president. are fully aware that their legacy is at stake. , and stepped aside for Harris.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Biden told Ms. Harris’ campaign leaders that he supported doing whatever it took to win, and said so directly to Ms. Harris’ campaign leaders, according to people familiar with the conversations. told CNN.
But the frustration continues. In parts of the West Wing and beyond, Biden’s allies can’t help but notice the president’s low-intensity schedule. A rambling and sometimes stumbling speech. And neither will the frequently misremembered narrative be held against him as evidence of disqualifying incompetence, as happened to Biden in the spring.
In recent days, people who have spoken to Biden’s aides told CNN they have heard complaints that the president would be in the same or better position today if he had stayed in the race. .
When CNN described the sentiment, several top Democratic operatives and officials burst out laughing, and one veteran consultant said, “It’s literally insane.”
A senior Biden adviser told CNN that this is by no means a pervasive sentiment within the White House.
The adviser argued that the president doesn’t care or value Harris’ severing ties with him and continues to say there’s more work to be done.
“The president is fully committed to selecting a vice president,” the senior adviser said. “He has traveled to battleground states on her behalf and talked about his experiences with the vice president as a governing partner, and he will continue to do so.”
CNN’s Gregory Krieg contributed to this article.
