President Joe Biden insisted the Vice President Kamala Harris continued to be a ‘major player’ in his administration — even as he faces criticism for multiple crises facing his administration.
The president surprised reporters in the briefing room on Friday to address the union port strike, the ongoing hurricane recovery, and the escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
After, one reporter asked him for his opinion on how his vice president was performing, he insisted that Harris was a full participant in everything they were doing.
‘I’m in constant contact with her. She’s aware. We’re singing from the same song sheet,’ Biden replied. ‘She helped pass all of the laws that are being employed now, she was a major player in everything we’ve done.’
Biden’s surprise appearance in the briefing room upstaged Harris, who was just about to speak at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan.
US President Joe Biden jokes with the news media as he walks from the daily briefing in the White House press briefing room
CNN reported afterwards that they were about to air Harris’ comments live before Biden appeared in the briefing room, which was “clearly overshadowing her.”
‘Is that a communications mistake, is the left hand not talking the right hand in this situation?’ wondered one of the CNN anchors.
During her rally in Michigan, Harris boasted of the pause in the port strike, and the promising new jobs report.
But the president appears to have stolen her thunder, making a splashy debut of his appearance in the White House press briefing room for the first time as president.
Harris did not refer to President Biden during her rally, even as she celebrated the administration’s efforts to fix the economy.
US President Joe Biden, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, responds to a question from the news media during the daily briefing in the White House
US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak to supporters at the Redford Fire Department on October 4, 2024 in Redford, Michigan.
Biden continues facing criticism from Republicans for the ongoing chaos in the Middle East after Iran launched missiles against Israel in retaliation for the military strikes in Hezbollah.
Harris and Biden have also been criticized for their slow response to Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina and Florida.
After a visit to hurricane victims in Georgia on Wednesday, Harris returned to the campaign trail in earnest, with plans to visit storm victims in North Carolina on Saturday.
Biden is reportedly disappointed by Harris as she appears to be distancing herself from him and ignoring the the successes of their administration.
A Saturday Night Live comedy sketch over the weekend only emphasized the mood after a doddering Biden character was pushed aside by the Harris character before he could finish speaking.
Harris has repeatedly reminded people on the campaign trail that she is ‘clearly’ not Joe Biden and is offering a ‘new generation of leadership.’
At the same time, Biden has argued that he still could have beaten Donald Trump, even though he dropped out of his reelection race and endorsed Harris.
‘I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance to my running again,’ Biden said last week during an interview on The View. ‘The fact of the matter is my polling was always in range of beating this guy.’
