Biden praises Harris, says she’ll ‘make one hell of a president’
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland, on Aug 15.
PHOTO: NYT
Follow topic:
MARYLAND – US President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail, navigating a strange, bittersweet dynamic: how to transition from incumbent presidential nominee to hype man for Vice-President Kamala Harris.
The pair took the stage together on Aug 15 for the first time since Mr Biden ended his re-election bid
The two struck the right notes during their event, with Mr Biden casting Ms Harris as “an incredible partner” in the “progress we made”.
“She’s going to make one hell of a president,” he said to cheers from the audience.
Mr Biden is eager to help Ms Harris defeat Republican Donald Trump, but must be careful not to overshadow a candidate who must make her own mark on the trail
Ms Harris faces an even tougher challenge of appearing loyal to a boss she is replacing while also distancing herself from his less popular policies.
Crucial to her re-election effort is claiming credit for popular accomplishments over the past four years without dulling the enthusiasm from voters previously dispirited by the prospect of re-electing Mr Biden, the 81-year-old president whose popularity waned under the weight of the post-pandemic economic recovery.
The dynamic is further complicated by the personal relationship of two leaders who find themselves on divergent political paths.
Mr Biden was stung by his defenestration
His painstakingly slow exit of the race underscored the extent to which he remained for weeks convinced that he still represented his party’s best chance against the Republican challenger.
Recent weeks have seen Mr Biden withdraw from the national stage, taking long vacations in his home state of Delaware and largely avoiding public events.
He also referenced the worries about his age that saw his own party pressure him to abandon his political ambitions.
“I served in the Senate for 270 years. I know I only look 40,” Mr Biden quipped to laughter, before adding: “For the longest time, I was too damn young.
“Now I’m too damn old.”
Mr Biden also personally experienced the pain of serving a president who lacked confidence in their running mate’s political abilities, after former president Barack Obama discouraged him from seeking the presidency.
Ms Harris, for her part, must straddle the line between loyalty to a president who remains popular with elements of her party’s base – but risks returning as an albatross with key demographics, including young voters and voters of colour troubled by inflation and Middle East policy during Mr Biden’s presidency.
Ms Harris spoke before Mr Biden on Aug 15, praising him as an “extraordinary president” as he stood beside her on the dais and spurring the audience in chants of “thank you, Joe”.
“I could speak all afternoon about the person that I am standing on this stage with,” Ms Harris said. “There’s a lot of love in this room for our President.”
Al Gore parallels
The unconventional dynamic is not dissimilar to the 2000 election, where vice-president Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, had to navigate the paradox of voters’ appreciation for former president Bill Clinton’s economic and policy record, even as his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky created a major liability.
“Harris needs to do the exact same thing,” said political science and public policy professor Christian Grose at the University of Southern California.
“The issues are different, but Harris needs to tie herself to the popular parts of the Biden policy agenda and distance herself as much as possible from both the personal part, his capacity to serve, and some of the less popular policy issues like the economy and potentially immigration, depending on the state.”
As Mr Gore – who ultimately lost his presidential bid – proved, it can be a difficult balance to strike.
Mr Biden continues to serve and can make decisions, particularly on foreign policy, that will impact the campaign. The issue of US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, which has already divided many Democrats, could be a particular challenge.
“She has her own views as the presidential candidate,” said Mr Tony Coelho, a former congressman who managed Mr Gore’s 2000 campaign while Mr Clinton was still in office. “You have to keep saying it and the general public will accept it.”
He added that Ms Harris did her job as a supportive vice-president but as a candidate, she is free to stake out her own ground. Mr Gore took positions that differed from Mr Clinton’s and while Republicans and some in the press tried to make that into an issue, it had little impact on the 2000 campaign, he said.
Trump’s plans
Mr Biden’s return to the campaign trail comes as Republican nominee Donald Trump has struggled to blunt Ms Harris’ momentum.
Ms Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has shaken up the race, with her campaign pulling ahead in fund raising and national polls showing she has edged ahead of Trump.
Trump is seeking to counter-programme the joint Biden-Harris appearance with a press conference at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.
But recent Trump appearances – including a glitch-filled live stream with tech billionaire Elon Musk and a controversial interview to an association of Black journalists – have done little to reverse perceptions that his campaign is slipping.
Mr Biden and Ms Harris together on the campaign trail could offer Trump a foothold to tie them together on issues where he perceives an advantage – including immigration and on the administration’s economic record.
Still, Mr Biden is expected to do more joint political events in the coming weeks and will fund-raise for Ms Harris and Mr Tim Walz, according to a Biden adviser. He is also expected to meet critical allies and parts of the Biden-Harris coalition on her behalf to continue building support, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss internal planning. BLOOMBERG
