Tensions have grown between members of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and the Biden White House just weeks before Election Day.
One of the biggest points of contention between the two camps is President Joe Biden’s praise and discussions with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis following two major hurricanes, Axios reported. A Harris campaign staffer told the outlet that the “White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign.”
The issue stems from early last week when Harris attempted to insert herself into hurricane relief operations by attacking DeSantis for purportedly not taking her phone call. Harris had called DeSantis “utterly irresponsible” and “selfish” even though disaster had just struck Florida and the vice president had no role in disaster relief, The Daily Wire reported at the time.
Shortly after, Biden’s social media team posted on X to say that the president was working with DeSantis.
“Tonight, I spoke with Florida Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Castor for firsthand reports on Hurricane Helene recovery and preparations for Hurricane Milton,” the post said. “My Administration is ready to support both leaders and the people of Florida with any further resources they may need.”
DeSantis also pushed back on Harris’ claims about a phone call, saying he had never received calls from her before and she had never been involved in any of his administration’s disaster response efforts previously. He added that she had “no role” in the process and wasn’t even in the chain of command on the issue.
The day after Biden’s post on X, Harris appeared on “The View” for a softball interview, but Biden decided to appear at a press conference at the same time. During that press conference, Biden discussed his work with DeSantis on hurricane relief efforts.
“The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he’s gotten all that he needs. I talked to him again yesterday, and I said, ‘You’re doing a great job. It’s being all being done. We thank you for it. And I literally gave my personal phone number to call,” Biden said.
During that press conference, Biden also undermined Harris’ campaign message of being a change candidate, saying she was directly connected to all of his policy decisions.
“Well, she’s — I’m in constant contact with her,” Biden said. “She’s aware of where — we all — we’re singing from the same song sheet. She helped pass all the laws that are being employed now.”
“She was a major player in everything we’ve done, including passage of legislation, which we were told we could never pass,” he continued. “And so, she’s been — and her — her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we’re doing.”
The tensions between Biden and Harris emerged after Democrats pushed Biden to drop out of his re-election bid and inserted Harris as the nominee in order to keep the campaign cash Biden raised.
