President Joe Biden suggested Monday night that it’s Vice President Kamala who’s really in charge.
Biden made a surprise stop at the EMILY’s List gala, where former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was being honored.
The group – which is named after the acronym ‘early money is like yeast’ – raises funds for pro-choice female political candidates.
He applauded Pelosi, who now uses the title ‘Speaker Emerita,’ calling her the ‘most consequential speakers in American history’ and ‘incredible.’
‘I also want to thank my buddy Kamala who I work for up in the White House for leading on this issue,’ he said, a reference to abortion rights.
President Joe Biden suggested Monday night that it’s Vice President Kamala who’s really in charge
‘I also want to thank my buddy Kamala who I work for up in the White House for leading on this issue,’ Biden said about the vice president (pictured)
The remark was met with nervous laughter.
The president, 80, announced his reelection bid last month, highlighting Harris several times in the video rollout.
But her low approval numbers have Democrats worried.
USA Today reported earlier this month that a group of Democratic strategists warned the White House two days after Biden’s reelection announcement that some of the Republican attacks on Harris are sticking – and it may be too late to reframe the narrative.
Since January 2021, Republicans have tried to paint Harris as incompetent and awkward, with right-leaning outlets hammering her for her failure as ‘border czar,’ despite her being tasked with working with the three Northern Triangle countries to prevent migrants coming to the U.S.
She was also tasked with trying to get voting rights bill passed – a nearly impossible task due to the makeup and rules of the U.S. Senate.
But more recently Harris has been having success with being the face of the White House’s effort to push back on restrictive abortion laws in the near year since the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs, reversing Roe v. Wade.
And after the discussion, Biden has been visibly supportive of Harris – taking her on a taco run with him to mark Cinco de Mayo and speaking positively about the work she’s doing at public engagements.
Biden (left) surprised the audience by showing up to the EMILY’s List gala Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., where former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) was being honored
Still, her poll numbers aren’t great.
On May 10, according to FiveThirtyEight, she stood at 39.4 approval and 50.4 percent disapproval.
At the same time, Biden’s advanced age will bring greater attention to Harris as the 2024 run heats up.
Already, GOP hopeful Nikki Haley suggested that the country would get stuck with Harris – because, in her words, it’s likely Biden wouldn’t make it through a second term.
‘If you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President Harris. Because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,’ the Republican presidential candidate said in an interview on Fox News.
Biden showed up at the EMILY’s List event after cancelling a planned trip to Australia for the Quad summit due to the White House and Congressional Republicans still not having a deal on how to raise the debt limit.
He’ll still travel to Hiroshima, Japan on Wednesday to participate in G7 meetings.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that Biden would still take the lead in the meetings while abroad, when asked if Harris would step in and be the negotiator.
‘The vice president is a close adviser. She’a a partner to the president. That has been consistent the last two years, ‘ Jean Pierre said. ‘That’s what you’re going to continue to see. And she’s been part of this process throughout – throughout these conversations about the budget, about not defaulting. So that is not going to change.’
‘The president could be president anywhere,’ Jean-Pierre also added. ‘He can do the work of the American people abroad.’
