REPORT: Kamala Is Furious With Joe Biden After Multiple Moves Overshadowing Her Campaign

Tensions have reportedly escalated within the Democratic camp as Election Day approaches, with ten insiders revealing to Axios a growing strain between Vice President Kamala Harris’ staff and President Joe Biden’s White House team.

Although Biden’s aides are publicly supporting Harris’ candidacy, many are still grappling with the transition from leading to supporting roles following Biden’s decision not to seek re-election. “They’re too much in their feelings,” a close ally of Harris told Axios, regarding the president’s team. This sentiment is reportedly shared by some within the White House as well.

Members of Harris’ team have reportedly expressed their frustration that senior White House aides are not adequately aligning Biden’s public engagements and messaging with the needs of Harris’ campaign. An example of this misalignment occurred last Friday when Biden held an unscheduled press conference in the White House briefing room at the same time Harris was scheduled to speak at an event in Michigan, resulting in diminished television coverage for her.

Earlier in the week, after Harris had publicly criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for not taking her call about the hurricane response, Biden unexpectedly praised DeSantis for his cooperation and graciousness, further complicating their message. A source familiar with the matter told Axios that Biden had not been informed of Harris’ prior comments about DeSantis. Meanwhile, Biden has been vocal about recent successes such as a strong jobs report and the resolution of a longshoremen’s strike, while Harris has aimed to focus on direct economic issues like inflation that affect voters’ daily lives.

An individual associated with Harris’ campaign pointed out to Axios, “The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign.”

The friction extends to staff interactions as well. Harris’ team has been working to increase the staffing in the vice president’s office to cope with growing demands, but they have encountered delays from the White House in approving these additions, according to two insiders. Although the White House has tried to facilitate this process, there have been frustrations over procedural rules concerning staff assignments. Moreover, tensions have risen as some Biden aides who moved to Harris’ campaign feel they are viewed as disloyal by their former colleagues for their decision to leave or even consider leaving.

A White House official conveyed to Axios, “Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated a number of staff would want to transition from the administration to the campaign for the final stretch.”

Tensions have also surfaced within Harris’ campaign, particularly between veterans of Biden’s original campaign team and recent additions from Harris’ circle. After Harris secured the Democratic nomination, there were disputes over whether Biden’s primary TV surrogates would continue or be replaced by new faces, as reported by two sources to Axios. Ultimately, Harris’ team succeeded, and new surrogates began to appear more frequently on television.

Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July. His decision came after his problematic debate performance against former President Donald Trump, which surged concerns about his capability to continue in office. Biden’s surprising exit from the race occurred with less than four months to go before the election.

Now, there’s a lingering wariness among some members of Harris’ team regarding the Biden campaign staff they are now collaborating with. This skepticism stems in part from the public stance Biden’s team took following a poor debate performance by the president in June, where they suggested Harris was less electable than Biden, further complicating team dynamics.