President Joe Biden‘s relationship with his No. 2 has soured ever since she replaced him at the top of the Democrat‘s 2024 presidential ticket.
Vice President Kamala Harris‘ team has experienced increased tension with Biden’s staff, nearly a dozen people familiar with the situation detailed to Axios in a new report.
While aides say that Biden and his team want Harris to win in November, many have lingering bruises from the president being pushed out of his reelection bid.
‘They’re too much in their feelings,’ a Harris ally said of Biden’s team.
In recent weeks, the conflict has simmered to the public where some actions have raised eyebrows over the tension between the president and his VP.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have a growing rift after she replaced her boss on the 2024 ballot
For example, Biden for the first time made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room on Friday – at the same time Harris was gearing up for a campaign event in Michigan.
This ensured that the VP’s event got less TV time and coverage than it would have otherwise.
Even Republican former President Donald Trump sees the rift in the White House.
‘He can’t stand her for one simple reason, she overthrew him,’ Trump said of the relationship between Biden and Harris.
‘But she didn’t do it, the party did,’ he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. ‘It was really a coup. I mean, he’s a very angry guy. I think he looks better now because now we’re comparing him to her.’
Some Harris aides say that White House staffers are intentionally not working with Biden’s messaging and schedule to align it with what would best benefit the 2024 candidate’s campaign, according to the Axios report.
‘The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign,’ a person in Harris’ campaign said.
Last week, Harris expressed criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to take her calls about the Hurricane relief efforts and slammed him for calling her outreach ‘politically motivated.’
Even former President Donald Trump says he can see how angry Biden is that he was forced out of his reelection bid
Shortly after, Biden praised the Republican Governor for being ‘gracious’ and ‘cooperative’ during their calls.
Frustrating is also mounting as Harris’ team seeks to bolster to handle the bigger workload but the White House staff are dragging their feet on getting people hired.
A White House official insisted to Axios: ‘Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated a number of staff would want to transition from the administration to the campaign for the final stretch.’
Biden faced a slew of pressure from his party to drop out his reelection campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.
For about a month, the president pushed back on the pressure, claiming he intended to see it through to November.
But on July 21, Biden announced on X he was ending his bid and endorsed his No. 2 to take over the campaign.
