(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail navigating a strange, bittersweet dynamic: how to transition from incumbent presidential nominee to hype man for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The pair took the stage together Thursday for the first time since Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris at an event outside of Washington, touting prescription drug savings under the president’s signature Inflation Reduction Act.
The two struck the right notes during their event, with Biden casting Harris as “an incredible partner” in the “progress we made.”
“She’s going to make one hell of a president,” he said to cheers from the audience.
Biden is eager to help Harris defeat Republican Donald Trump but must be careful not to overshadow a candidate who must make her own mark on the trail.
Harris faces an even tougher challenge of appearing loyal to a boss she is replacing while also distancing herself from his less popular policies. Crucial to her reelection effort is claiming credit for popular accomplishments over the past four years without dulling the enthusiasm from voters previously dispirited by the prospect of reelecting Biden, the 81-year-old president whose popularity waned under the weight of the post-pandemic economic recovery.
The dynamic is further complicated by the personal relationship of two leaders who find themselves on divergent political paths.
Biden was stung by his defenestration at the hands of top Democratic Party officials following his disastrous debate against Trump. His painstakingly slow exit of the race underscored the extent to which he remained for weeks convinced that he still represented his party’s best chance against the Republican challenger. Recent weeks have seen the president withdraw from the national stage, taking long vacations in his home state of Delaware and largely avoiding public events.
The president also referenced the worries about his age that saw his own party pressure him to abandon his political ambitions.
“I served in the Senate for 270 years. I know I only look 40,” Biden quipped to laughter, before adding, “For the longest time, I was too damn young.”
“Now I’m too damn old,” he said.
Biden also personally experienced the pain of serving a president who lacked confidence in their running mate’s political abilities, after former President Barack Obama discouraged him from seeking the presidency.
Harris, for her part, must straddle the line between loyalty to a president who remains popular with elements of her party’s base – but risks returning as an albatross with key demographics including young voters and voters of color troubled by inflation and Middle East policy during Biden’s presidency.
Harris spoke before Biden on Thursday, praising him as an “extraordinary president” as he stood beside her on the dais and spurring the audience in chants of “thank you, Joe.”
“I could speak all afternoon about the person that I am standing on this stage with,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of love in this room for our president.”
Gore Parallels
The unconventional dynamic is not dissimilar to the 2000 election, where Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, had to navigate the paradox of voters’ appreciation for former President Bill Clinton’s economic and policy record, even as his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky created a major liability.
“Harris needs to do the exact same thing,” said Christian Grose, political science and public policy professor at the University of Southern California. “The issues are different, but Harris needs to tie herself to the popular parts of the Biden policy agenda and distance herself as much as possible from both the personal part, his capacity to serve, and some of the less popular policy issues like the economy and potentially immigration, depending on the state.”
As Gore — who ultimately lost his presidential bid — proved, it can be a difficult balance to strike. Biden continues to serve and can make decisions, particularly on foreign policy, that will impact the campaign. The issue of US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, which has already divided many Democrats, could be a particular challenge.
“She has her own views as the presidential candidate,” said Tony Coelho, a former congressman who managed Gore’s 2000 campaign while Clinton was still in office. “You have to keep saying it and the general public will accept it.”
He added that Harris did her job as a supportive vice president but as a candidate, she is free to stake out her own ground. Gore took positions that differed from Clinton’s, and while Republicans and some in the press tried to make that into an issue, it had little impact on the 2000 campaign, he said.
Trump’s Plans
Biden’s return to the campaign trail comes as Republican nominee Donald Trump has struggled to blunt Harris’ momentum. Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has shaken up the race, with her campaign pulling ahead in fundraising and national polls showing she has edged ahead of Trump.
Trump is seeking to counter-program the joint Biden-Harris appearance with a press conference at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. But recent Trump appearances — including a glitch-filled livestream with Elon Musk and a controversial interview at an association of Black journalists — have done little to reverse perceptions that his campaign is slipping.
Biden and Harris together on the campaign trail could offer Trump a foothold to tie them together on issues where he perceives an advantage — including immigration and on the administration’s economic record.
Still, the president is expected to do more joint political events in the coming weeks and will fundraise for Harris and Walz, according to a Biden adviser. He’s also expected to meet with critical allies and parts of the Biden-Harris coalition on her behalf to continue building support, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss internal planning.
--With assistance from Bill Allison.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
