Report suggests growing tensions between Biden and Harris

By 
 March 25, 2023

A recent report suggests that there are growing strains in President Joe Biden's relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

In an article published on Thursday, Reuters cited "Democratic sources" as saying that Biden "has frustrations" regarding the way Harris operates.

Biden said to be frustrated by Harris not taking "anything off his plate"

"If he did not think she was capable, he would not have picked her. But it is a question of consistently rising to the occasion," one former Biden administration official was quoted as saying.

"A point of tension in their relationship is that I don't think that the president sees her as somebody who takes anything off of his plate," another former White House figure told the news service, adding that Harris appears to have been held back by "fear of messing up."

However, others downplayed any trouble between Harris and Biden. One of them is former Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond.

"They have a great relationship. He leans on her a lot," said Richmond, who also served as an advisor to the president.

"People consistently underestimate both of them, and they consistently prove people wrong," Richmond went on to insist.

Concerns about the 2024 Democratic ticket

Meanwhile, outgoing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh declared, "The vice president's job really is to make sure that you carry the mission of the administration forward and she has done that very successfully around the country."

Reuters cited other sources who said that a major reason why Biden is seeking another term in 2024 is that he has concerns over the vice president's electability should she be on the top of their party's ticket.

"I think this is actually one of the fundamental strategic challenges for (Biden) ... how to navigate this," one person was quoted as saying.

"It's almost impossible for them to make a change," the Democratic source explained. "You cannot replace your first Black woman vice president and think that Black people and women are going to just vote for you."

Poll shows Harris losing to both Trump and DeSantis

A recent poll suggests that such concerns may be well founded. Carried out by Harvard-Harris between March 22 and March 23, it concluded that both of the Republican Party's 2024 leading candidates would beat the vice president in a head-to-head match up.

The survey found that when given the choice between Harris and former President Donald Trump, 49% of respondents favored Trump versus 38% who said they would support Harris.

Meanwhile, 46% indicated that they would pick Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over the vice president. The percentage who remained undecided in each scenario was 14% and 16%, respectively.

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