White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that President Biden is “not holding back Vice President Kamala Harris at all,” adding that Biden, who has decided to withdraw from the 2024 campaign, is “very concerned about passing on the torch.” “We have made it clear that
Jean-Pierre's comments came after Biden said last night that Harris “is going to carve her own path” if elected president, sparking tension between the White House and Harris' campaign. This came a few days after reports surfaced that there had been a rise in concerns and misunderstandings.
“Kamala and I have a concrete plan to reduce housing costs, child care costs, elder care costs, things like that,” Biden said at a Harris campaign event in Philadelphia.
“Every president has to blaze their own path. That's what I did. I was loyal to Barack Obama, but I blazed my own path as president. That's what Kamala tried to do. “She's been loyal, but she's going to cut her own path,” Biden added.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden attend a campaign event at the IBEW Local Union #5 union hall in Pittsburgh on September 2, 2024. (AP/Jacqueline Martin)
Asked at Wednesday's White House press briefing whether he felt Biden had retained Harris, Jean-Pierre said, “No, I don't feel that way at all.”
“I'm not going to get into politics from here, but the broader point is that every president has an opportunity to forge their own path, and the president was very clear about passing the torch,” Jean said. Pierre said. , “And we've seen Vice President Harris as a leader since day one.”
“He's incredibly proud of her. He's been supporting her since day one,” she added. “He has said many times that the best decision he made in 2020 was to ask her to be his running mate.”
However, Axios reported on Sunday that tensions are rising between the White House and Harris' campaign.
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President Biden spoke on the White House campus on Oct. 10 about the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and said Tuesday night that Harris would have to “chart her own path” if elected president. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
National political correspondent Alex Thompson said, “Many of Biden's senior aides remain traumatized by the president being removed from his re-election bid and are still adjusting to taking on a supporting role in the campaign.'' “We are in the process of doing so.”
Thompson said the main issue for some Harris campaign members is that White House aides “have not done enough to align Biden's message and schedule with what's best for the vice president's campaign.” I wrote that.
Thompson cited recent conflicts, including Friday when Biden held an impromptu press conference while Harris attended an event in Michigan.
Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two as it departs from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Wednesday, October 16.
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Another notable incident included Biden praising Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his response to the recent hurricanes, shortly after Harris criticized DeSantis for not answering his phone calls. . Thompson wrote that a person familiar with the situation said Biden was not briefed on Harris' comments before praising DeSantis.
FOX News' Lindsay Cornick contributed to this report.
