Joe Biden might try to sell himself as a kindly grandpa figure, but the cracks in that image have been showing ever since he took office. The so-called empathy act fell apart as he stumbled through a presidency that’s left plenty of folks feeling abandoned. Case in point: his slow-walk approach to aid for Georgia and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, leaving those states in a bind just as Election Day creeps closer. It’s almost like he’s intentionally dragging his feet to keep those states from bouncing back in time. But that’s just one chapter in the story of Biden’s less-than-nice side, and his relationship with Kamala Harris isn’t much better.
Awkward. As Kamala appears on The View, Joe Biden has counter programmed a White House briefing on the hurricane at the same time in the second TV clash of the week pic.twitter.com/Pj58HRRwmg
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 8, 2024
In fact, you could say Biden’s been doing a great job of kneecapping his vice president’s campaign. It’s almost comical how he keeps interrupting her attempts to gain some traction. Just look at what happened during Harris’s appearance on The View. While she was trying to score some easy media points, Biden conveniently held a press conference that stole the spotlight. It’s not the first time, either. This pattern is driving Harris’s team to the brink, according to CNN.
“Biden keeps popping up” – Harris campaign frustrated by Joe Biden’s latest media appearances, says CNN reporter Edward @IsaacDovere.
“Biden in the next couple of days is heading to Angola and Germany. It’s not like a really pressing foreign trip. A lot of people in the Harris… pic.twitter.com/AUL9gKhXk1
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 8, 2024
Her aides are stuck in a tricky spot, trying to figure out how to distance her from Biden without making it look like a full-on break. She’s trying to put out her own ideas and policies, even offering tougher talk on issues like the southern border. But every time she tries, Biden pulls her back into the orbit of the White House. It’s like he’s keeping her on a leash, letting her run but yanking her back just when she thinks she’s free. And let’s be real: Harris’s team doesn’t seem too upset that Biden is spending time overseas this month—Germany and Angola, anyone? Some of them probably wish he’d stay out of the picture a little longer.
But here’s the kicker: even if Harris wanted to pull off this balancing act, she doesn’t have the finesse. “Harris wants to create space, top aides say, but not too much space.” Right. As if she’s got the political savvy to manage that without it all blowing up in her face. And Biden? Well, he keeps reminding the country that Harris was right there with him on every one of their administration’s most unpopular decisions. Just take her own words from a recent The View interview: she wouldn’t change “a thing” about the past three years. Sure, Kamala, tell us again why voters should choose more of the same when they already disapprove of the job Biden’s doing on issues like inflation.
This is pretty comical:
OMG. CNN accused Biden of “overshadowing” Kamala and stealing her thunder by addressing the port worker’s strike before she did in a super rare White House press briefing.
Looks like tensions are rising in the West Wing. 👀pic.twitter.com/TTVgdgfyv4
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) October 4, 2024
It’s clear she can’t escape the shadow of this administration, even if she wanted to. And then there’s the whole Hurricane Milton debacle. Biden’s been playing it cool, quietly undercutting her efforts while managing to look like the adult in the room—at least by comparison. It’s a political cold war between the Biden and Harris camps, and Biden doesn’t seem too upset about throwing a wrench in her plans.
The reality is Biden’s not too thrilled about being forced out of the 2024 race, and he’s making sure everyone knows it. As the Joker famously said, “Everything burns.” And in this case, Biden’s ensuring that if he’s going down, he’s not going down alone.
