In recent weeks, tension has been growing between the staff of US President <a href="http://www.time.news/presidents-joao-lourenco-and-joe-bieden-meet-at-the-white-house/" title="Presidents João Lourenço and Joe Bieden meet at the White House“>Joe Biden and the team of his vice president and candidate for the highest post in the White House, Kamala Harris. Although Biden has expressed his full support for his co-worker ahead of the upcoming election, some of his senior advisers feel aggrieved that Biden was “removed” from the presidential race.
This was pointed out by the Axios server, which refers to ten sources. The advisers, who claimed back in June that Harris has a lower chance of being elected than Joe Biden, are having a hard time coping with the supporting role they should have in the election. Democratic candidate Biden withdrew from the election in July after growing pressure from his party regarding his advanced age. He was replaced on the candidate list by Harris, who will therefore face Republican Donald Trump on November 5.
The tension is manifested, for example, in the fact that Biden’s advisers do not try to coordinate their actions with the Harris team. An example can be the situation from October 4. Just minutes after the vice president began her speech in Michigan, her team received word that Joe Biden would be speaking at a press conference at the White House shortly. This is the first time the president has appeared before journalists in his time in office. Because of this, Harris received less space on television screens.
It caused indignation and frank anger in her team, writes the American newspaper New York Times.
Poor communication is also evidenced by another event from that week. Harris addressed the fact that Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was not answering her phone at a time when the state was threatened by hurricanes. However, he took the phone from Biden, and the president then publicly praised him for how helpful he was in the situation. The Harris and Biden teams did not share the information that the vice president was unable to reach DeSantis.
“There’s no one in the White House whose first and foremost thought is how these things are going to affect the presidential campaign,” an unnamed source working on the Harris campaign told Axios.
The same senior Biden advisers have a measured reaction to their colleagues who have transferred to the team leading Harris’s presidential campaign. They are said to be considered disloyal.
“They’re going through a lot,” said a member of Harris’ team. Similar voices are heard from the White House. This attitude should only apply to senior officials. People in lower positions cooperate with the Harris campaign without problems.
The relations between Biden and Harris still remain good, writes the New York Times. Harris remains loyal and never says anything concrete when asked what she would do differently than her boss, Biden. Instead, she talks about how she would move forward if elected.
In addition, Biden recently stated that Harris was involved in everything he did during his presidency and that thanks to her, he managed to pass laws that no one even hoped for.
Still, Harris’ team believes Biden could give his vice president more leeway. When traveling to states that are likely to decide the election, he should talk more about her and less about what he has achieved in the position, the American station CNN quotes its sources.
Had the teams communicated better, Harris would also not have had to postpone her visit to North Carolina, where the chances of both candidates are very even. But the week she wanted to go there, Biden went there. Again, her trip wouldn’t get as much attention and was eventually shelved.
CNN reports that Harris’ advisers were therefore looking forward to Biden leaving for a week-long foreign trip, during which he was supposed to visit Angola and Germany. They hoped it could last longer. But Biden eventually canceled the trip due to preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Milton. He should finally arrive in Germany this Friday, but only for one day. The new date of the trip to Angola is not known.
Candidates had the same complications in the past when the vice president sought the post of his boss. Axios recalls, for example, the race for the presidency in 2000, when Vice President Al Gore ran for the post, or the 1988 election, in which Vice President George Bush Sr. ran.
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