Vice President Kamala Harris staffers are starting to blame the Biden administration for not doing enough to help her presidential campaign, according to a new report – as the Democrat sinks in the polls with less than a month before the Nov. 5 election.
Despite the veneer of unity that Harris and President Biden have displayed after Biden dropped out of the race, some of their staffers have reportedly been butting heads behind the scenes.
Privately, several members of Harris’ team have feuded with Biden’s White House staff, feeling that they aren’t adequately prioritizing her election bid while some within the president’s orbit still feel raw over his ouster.
“The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign,” a source involved in the Harris-Walz campaign told Axios.
As the Harris-Walz campaign grapples with a very close election, some within Harris’ orbit have felt that the White House hasn’t been calibrating the president’s schedule and messaging in the way that she needs, Axios reported, citing 10 sources familiar.
“They’re too much in their feelings,” a Harris ally told the outlet of the Biden White House.
Just this month, Biden, 81, shocked reporters by giving his first-ever press conference in the White House briefing room as president, which some in Harris’ world felt sucked the media oxygen away from her Flint, Michigan rally.
Last week, Harris, 59, feuded with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after reports revealed that his team turned down an overture to hold a call with her in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene late last month.
Biden then praised DeSantis’ job getting the Sunshine State ready for Hurricane Milton. He also held a call with DeSantis. All of this gave fodder to conservative critics that vexed the Harris campaign.
When asked about the Axios report, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates underscored to The Post that Biden endorsed Harris “immediately after leaving the race,” alluding to calls the president rejected for a mini primary to replace him.
“We have made significant changes to guarantee the Vice President’s team has all of the support and resources that they need,” Bates argued, crediting the White House for “successfully executing an unprecedented transition to a new candidate.”
Despite a subset of White House staffers being alienated by the Democratic revolt that led to Biden bowing out of the race, some have opted to jump ship onto Harris’ campaign.
A White House official familiar with the dynamic told The Post that Biden’s team recognizes “that the VP and her team need the independence to run the campaign on their terms and our goal is to provide support when helpful.”
That official contended that the Harris-Biden administration is doing what it can “within the rules” to ensure coordination between the Office of the Vice Presidency (OVP), the White House and the Harris-Walz campaign.
Several steps the White House has taken for coordination, include having vice presidential staffers sit on strategic meetings and working to accommodate Harris’ travel schedule, according to that official.
“There are legal restrictions affecting details from the White House to the Office of the Vice President, so senior White House aides worked hard to find effective alternatives,” the official added.
But past efforts by some hardcore Biden loyalists to fend off the mutiny against him over the summer loom large for allies of Harris.
Famously amid that revolt against Biden, deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty strongly insinuated that alternatives to him were less likely to defeat former President Donald Trump.
“At the end of the day, we’d switch to candidates who would, according to polls, be less likely to win than Joe Biden — the only person ever to defeat Donald Trump,” Flaherty wrote at the time.
To date, Harris has staunchly resisted pressure from top party strategists who have implored her to publicly draw a contrast with the policies of unpopular Biden.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris told ABC News’ “The View” last week when asked if she would’ve done something differently during her boss’ presidency.
“And I’ve been part of most of the decisions that have had impact,” she went on, before later clarifying that one difference she will have with Biden is that she intends to have a Republican in the Cabinet.
Those comments gave the Trump-Vance campaign ammunition given Biden’s lackluster approval ratings.
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Conversely, Biden has been emphatic about his praise of Harris, declaring during the Democratic National Convention in August that choosing her as his veep was “the best decision I made my whole career.”
Notably after delivering a headline speech on the first night of the convention, Biden jetted off for a lengthy getaway that spanned some two weeks.
Ultimately, once Harris ascended to the top of the ticket, her standing against Trump grew more competitive than VBiden’s poll numbers had been.
The Post contacted the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.
