Is Biden Sabotaging Harris? President Biden's apparent bitterness over being pressured to drop his re-election bid by key members of his own party has led to speculation that he is deliberately undermining Kamala Harris' campaign, according to a growing number of political analysts. Since being forced out of the race in July due to concerns about his cognitive decline, Biden has done little to support Harris beyond a formal endorsement, often missing her campaign events.
He has also frequently overshadowed his intended successor, such as when he commented on the White House's response to Hurricane Helene last week, despite Harris cancelling a campaign event in Las Vegas to return to DC for storm briefings. The outgoing president has also made several embarrassing moves that have delighted Trump-supporting conservatives, including wearing a 'Trump 2024' cap during a 9/11 memorial event and praising Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his hurricane preparations, just a day after Harris complained that DeSantis had not taken her call.
Republican strategist Jason Meister, who advises Trump's campaign, claims that Biden is exacting revenge on Harris for 'stabbing him in the back.' Meister suggests that Biden's happiest moment in four years was when he donned a Trump 2024 hat after speaking with firefighters in Shanksville, PA, on 9/11. New York-based Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf believes Biden's reluctance to fully support Harris' campaign could be a 'power move' to assert his authority.
At a Trump rally in Scranton, PA, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy suggested that Biden might secretly be rooting for Trump to win over his hometown and the rest of Pennsylvania. Ramaswamy doubled down on this view, stating that Biden is still 'bruised' by the events that led to his withdrawal from the race.
Trump campaign spokesperson Caroline Sunshine noted that Harris doesn't need Biden's help to sabotage her own campaign, as she often does so herself. Sunshine also emphasized that there is no policy divergence between Biden and Harris. White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended Biden, stating that he has consistently supported and praised Harris since leaving the campaign. Another Biden camp source clarified that the president was unaware of DeSantis' refusal to take Harris' call about Hurricane Milton when he praised the governor for Florida's hurricane response.
