Tensions Rising Between Biden and Harris

 

    Tensions are rising between the Biden and Harris teams as the election draws nearer, insiders have told Axios.

According to the report, “many senior Biden aides remain wounded by the president being pushed out of his re-election bid and are still adjusting to being in a supporting role on the campaign trail.”

There is growing anger that Biden and his staff are not coordinating with the Harris campaign, leading to embarrassing mixed messaging.

A Harris inside told Axios: “The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign.”

Rankles have included Biden holding a press conference on Friday at the same time as Harris was at an event in Michigan, “ensuring that her event would get less TV coverage than it otherwise would have.”

Biden praised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after Kamala Harris had criticized him for refusing to take a phone call from her. Biden has also chosen to tout his economic record, including the latest official jobs report, while Harris has tried to focus on inflation and the economic hardships faced by ordinary Americans.

These tensions have played out at a staff level, in particular about levels of access and roles for staffers who were working on Biden’s campaign before he was forced out of the presidential race.

The White House has done its best to pour oil on troubled waters. Spokesman Andrew Bates told Axios: “President Biden endorsed Vice President Harris immediately after leaving the race, rejecting other approaches that would divide the party, and has attested to her leadership abilities and continually made clear his support for her.”

The Harris campaign has refused to comment.

In recent days it has become increasingly clear that the Harris campaign is in serious trouble. NBC polling now shows that Harris’s five-point lead over Trump has disappeared and the former president’s advantage on key issues like immigration and the economy has widened significantly.

The Harris campaign has also been dogged by embarrassing gaffes and publicity stunts that have backfired, many of which have come from the Vice President’s running-mate, Tim Walz. Over the weekend, Walz staged a “hunting” photo-op to appeal to rural voters, only to struggle at loading his own gun, despite having spent 25 years in the National Guard and claiming to be an avid hunter.