The vice president is caught between loyalty and ambition, and some allies are chafing.
Amid growing concerns over President Joe Biden’s debate performance, Vice President Kamala Harris has found herself in the difficult position of defending her running mate while acknowledging his shortcomings. In a series of post-debate interviews, Harris sought to project confidence in Biden’s leadership while also addressing the elephant in the room: his lackluster showing on the debate stage.
Harris’ efforts to strike this delicate balance have been met with mixed reactions, as some allies privately express frustration that her name is not being mentioned alongside other potential Democratic contenders. Despite this, Harris has made it clear that her primary focus is on supporting Biden and preserving the credibility of their partnership.
“There’s nothing that she could do externally that would be wise,” Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo said. “Her best strategy is to internally just be an amazing VP.”
She had to perform the role of good soldier almost immediately after the debate, with postmortem interviews having been pre-scheduled with CNN and MSNBC.
As Harris watched Biden’s face-plant, she and her team realized her response would be even more closely scrutinized, according to three aides granted anonymity to describe private discussions — and she quickly made clear to her staff that they shouldn’t try to sugarcoat how badly her running mate had performed.