Kamala Lashes Out At Biden For Latest Remarks

There’s less than a week to go before the Biden-Harris administration is officially in the history books, but both leaders appear to be taking veiled potshots at one another on their way out the door.

President Joe Biden’s assertion that he “would have beaten” President-elect Donald Trump has rubbed Vice President Kamala Harris the wrong way, according to aides who say her demeanor turned dolorous after she heard about it.

Kirsten Allen, a spokeswoman for Harris, said Biden and Harris have “developed a close working relationship as governing partners, but they have also built a strong friendship that continues today.” She made no mention of whether Harris agrees with Biden’s conjecture.

Those close to Harris say she resents the “one-sided loyalty” that Biden has shown her since she replaced him at the top of the ticket. In her mind, Harris has been nothing but dutiful in bringing youth and vitality to Biden’s 2020 campaign and defending him from continual criticism over his age and fitness for office.

The scorn was set off in December following an interview with USA Today where President Biden was asked if he thought he could have beaten Trump a second time. “It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling,” Biden replied, offering no detail on which polls he was referencing.

The controversial hot take was reignited just days later. He “could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump,” Biden said about himself. He also said that Harris “could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump.”

“I didn’t want to be one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election,” he explained. “And that’s why I stepped aside.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that President Biden was spending the final days of his presidency meandering through the halls of power and telling staffers about what could have been. According to advisors who spoke with the outlet, Biden didn’t believe he was critiquing Harris in those private conversations.

However, intention is not appearance. The grumblings made their way to Harris, and since then, she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff have largely ignored Biden and First Lady Jill Biden during some of their final official events together.

During a Veterans Day commemoration, Harris and Jill Biden sat shoulder-to-shoulder, though they may as well have been miles apart given that neither so much as glanced at the other. Neither couple made much effort to interact at last week’s funeral for Jimmy Carter.

There is also the vice president’s issue of residency tugging at her attention these days. Her hometown of Brentwood, California was under evacuation during last week’s fires, and she and Emhoff are preparing to empty their belongings from the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s traditional Washington, D.C. residency.

Allies of Harris say she is preparing to write a book following her time in the White House, but the topic is yet to be determined, according to Politico. “There’s a version of this book that is full of platitudes but safe, and then there’s a version that reinvents her to lead a Democratic Party in need of rebuilding,” said Keith Urbahn, a publishing vet at Javelin. “She gets a payday either way, but only the latter gets her a second shot at the presidency.”