United States President Joe Biden has sought to participate in the presidential campaign of his vice president, Kamala Harris. However, the Democrat’s team has kept him on the sidelines, believing his presence will harm her chances of overcoming Republican candidate Donald Trump.
According to Axios, Biden wants to get involved in the final days of Harris’ campaign to be elected president. According to three people familiar with the matter, her team responded to Biden’s request, “We’ll get back to you.”
Harris’ rise to the Democratic nomination resulted from the crisis within the party caused by Biden’s advanced age and cognitive decline, which raised doubts both internally and externally about his ability to retain the White House. Doubts turned into certainties on June 27, when the Democrat faced the Republican candidate in a debate in which he displayed irresolute behaviour.
Axios reported that the vice president’s team believes Biden is a political liability at a crucial moment in the campaign but has been reluctant to back down from him.
“It’s the latest example of Democrats, and even some of Biden’s staff, tiptoeing around the 81-year-old president’s ego and feelings,” the outlet wrote, adding: “Harris’ team and allies respect Biden’s service but are wary of further tying Harris to the unpopular president on the campaign trail.”
According to CNN, the current US president has an average approval rating of 38% and a disapproval rating of 57%, while FiveThirtyEight found that Biden’s approval rating is 39%.
“He’s a reminder of the last four years, not the new way forward,” said another person familiar with the situation and referencing Harris’ campaign slogan.
Although Harris’ campaign team is trying hard to present her as a different candidate from what Biden represents, a little more than half of Americans believe that the Democrat will continue with the current government’s policies.
According to a poll by the Wall Street Journal, 54% of American voters say Harris will mostly continue Biden’s approach, while 41% believe she will have her own ideas and new leadership in the White House. The perception that the Democrats will continue with the same direction of government is more prevalent among undecided Americans.
Asked which of the two candidates could implement necessary change, the poll showed 49% of voters favour Trump versus 40% for Harris. Asked who has a vision for the future, 45% of respondents voted for the Republican candidate and 43% for the Democratic presidential hopeful.
The American newspaper pointed out that Harris and Trump are competing for a small portion of undecided voters a few days before the November 5 elections. According to a poll last August, the Republican led with 47% of electoral preferences over the Democrat, who had 45% of voting intention.
David Wasserman, an analyst at the Cook Political Report, told the newspaper that Harris has to generate enthusiasm among the 37% to 40% of voters who believe Biden’s presidency was successful while seeking support from Americans who want a big change.
The Wall Street Journal also claimed that Harris’ campaign members acknowledged that the candidate needed to do more to show her separation from Biden’s image. The Democrat’s efforts have been hesitant, which has been exploited by Trump and his electoral team during the race.
The Ukraine conflict will likely leave a host of issues for the next US president, including the cost of US aid, potential peace negotiations, and the extent of NATO’s involvement. Yet Harris is proposing more of the same as Biden has done with this conflict – unwavering support for the Kiev regime and no change in its stance on negotiations with Moscow.
If Harris wins the election, she will find it much more difficult to provide the level of financial support to Kiev that has been possible under the Biden administration, which has resulted in more than $100 billion in support being provided, something that would make her job more difficult. Although she will continue to support whatever Zelensky says he wants to do, she may be unable to provide him with the money and weapons he seeks.
Trump has repeatedly emphasised that the war should end and that it is much better to achieve a peace deal with Russia to start the long-term peace process. This is significantly different from what Harris offers. Trump says he would not want to provide endless financial resources to prop up the Kiev regime, which is gradually losing the war.
In effect, Biden is hidden away from Harris to increase her chances of winning the US presidential election. However, Americans are not naïve and see that she is effectively a continuation of what the current president offers, as seen in their policies towards Ukraine.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from Adam Schultz / Flickr
