President Joe Biden suggested Monday night that it is Vice President Kamala who is really in charge.
Biden made a surprise stop at the EMILY’s List gala, honoring former chairman Nancy Pelosi.
The group – named after the acronym “early money is like gist” – raises money for pro-choice female political candidates.
He applauded Pelosi, who now goes by the title “Speaker Emerita,” calling her the “most important speakers in American history” and “incredible.”
“I also want to thank my friend Kamala, who I work for in the White House, for leading this issue,” he said, referring to abortion rights.
President Joe Biden suggested Monday night that it is Vice President Kamala who is really in charge
“I also want to thank my friend Kamala, who I work for in the White House, for leading this issue,” Biden said of the vice president (pictured)
The comment was met with nervous laughter.
The 80-year-old president announced his re-election bid last month, highlighting Harris several times in the video rollout.
But her low approval ratings worry Democrats.
USA Today reported earlier this month, a group of Democratic strategists warned the White House two days after the announcement of Biden’s re-election that some of the Republican attacks on Harris are continuing — and that it may be too late to reframe the narrative.
Since January 2021, Republicans have attempted to paint Harris as incompetent and clumsy, with right-wing outlets hammering her for her failure as a “border czar,” despite her job of working with the three Northern Triangle countries to prevent migrants from entering the US come.
She was also tasked with trying to get the Voting Rights Act passed – an almost impossible task due to the composition and rules of the US Senate.
But more recently, Harris has had success in being the face of White House efforts to roll back restrictive abortion laws in the nearly year since the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs and reversed Roe v. Wade.
And after the discussion, Biden visibly supported Harris by taking her on a taco run to mark Cinco de Mayo and speak positively about the work she does at public engagements.
Biden (left) surprised the crowd by appearing Tuesday night at the EMILY’s List gala in Washington, DC, honoring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right)
Still, her polls aren’t great.
on May 10 according to FiveThirtyEightshe stood at 39.4 percent approval and 50.4 percent disapproval.
At the same time, Biden’s advanced age will draw more attention to Harris as the 2024 run heats up.
GOP hopeful Nikki Haley already suggested the country get stuck with Harris — because, in her words, Biden is unlikely to win a second term.
“If you vote for Joe Biden, you really count on a President Harris. Because the idea that he would make it to age 86 doesn’t seem likely to me,” the Republican presidential nominee said in an interview on Fox News.
Biden appeared at the EMILY’s List event after canceling a planned trip to Australia for the Quad Summit because the White House and Congressional Republicans still have no deal on how to raise the debt limit.
He will 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 meetings abroad when asked if Harris would step in and be the negotiator.
“The vice president is a close adviser. She is a partner of the president. That has been consistent over the past two years,” said Jean Pierre. “That’s what you’re going to keep seeing. And she’s been a part of this process all along — during these conversations about the budget, about not defaulting. So that’s not going to change.’
“The president can be president anywhere,” Jean-Pierre also added. “He can do the work of the American people abroad.”