As Kamala Harris fumed that Ron DeSantis was playing politics with preparations for Hurricane Milton it might have been expected that President Joe Biden would take her side.
But when Biden was asked about suggestions the Florida governor had ignored his Vice President’s calls he gave her no such backing, instead heaping praise on the Republican.
Biden told reporters: ‘All I can do is tell you I have talked to Governor DeSantis. He has been very gracious, he’s thanked for me all we’ve done, he knows what we’re doing and I think that’s important.’
His comments appeared to severely undercut Harris’ position.
Harris had been critical of DeSantis after he didn’t take calls from her and her team in the lead up to Milton making landfall.
On Monday, she accused the governor of ‘playing political games with this moment,’ adding that he was ‘utterly irresponsible’ and ‘selfish.’
Biden, meanwhile, has spoken to DeSantis several times about Florida’s needs. And he has emphasized the depth of their partnership, revealing he gave the governor his personal cell phone number.
‘The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he’s gotten all that he needs,’ Biden said on Tuesday, adding: ‘I said – no – you’re doing a great job, it’s all being done well and we thank you for it.’
The contradictory messages out of the White House have led to questions about whether Biden is simply doing his job as president, or if he is deliberately stealing the spotlight from the woman who replaced him as the Democratic nominee.
Whatever the reason it is not helping Harris’ cause.
Republicans have latched onto Biden’s words, using them in adverts and social media posts against Harris.
In all, the president has stepped on his vice president four times recently – twice in regard to the DeSantis row, once speaking over her at a hurricane briefing, and by making a surprise appearance at the White House as she was about to deliver a big campaign speech.
‘I don’t have a sense whether this is deliberate or accidental,’ University of Vermont professor John Burke told DailyMail.com of Biden’s actions. ‘Surely it does not help her campaign.’
It can be hard for presidents to give up power, particularly, if, like Biden, they have worked their whole lives to get to the Oval Office.
Biden had two failed presidential campaigns under his belt before winning at his third attempt in the 2020 contest. If it hadn’t been for his disastrous debate performance, he would currently be making his fourth run for the White House.
As voters, media coverage, and attention move on to the new nominee, sometimes the lame duck leader is left behind, which can be frustrating, experts have noted.
Biden’s snubs to Harris may be born of that frustration, especially as he was pushed out of the race by party leaders who were worried about his ability to beat Donald Trump.
It also could be a simple lack of communication between the White House and the Harris campaign.
‘It’s inevitable that hiccups occur when a vice president runs to succeed the president,’ St. Louis University professor Joel Goldstein told DailyMail.com.
Goldstein, who is an expert on the transition process, added that ‘coordination can mitigate these instances but some will occur.’
Biden enthusiastically endorsed Harris and supports her candidacy.
But, as press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out on Wednesday: ‘There’s one president at a time.’
Biden has another 100 days in office with plenty of issues on his plate: two hurricanes, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and an upcoming battle over the federal budget.
In the past month, there have been several examples of when Biden is in presidential mode and seems to forget that he has a replacement to promote.
At a briefing on Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, Biden forgot to call on Harris and looked surprised when she piped up to ask National Weather Service director Ken Graham a question.
He also spoke over his vice president several times, although she was on a slight delay due to her joining the briefing virtually.
There have also been other apparent instances of Biden taking back some of the limelight.
Last week, he made the first visit of his presidency to the White House press briefing room.
Even more notably, he did so just as Harris was about to give a major campaign speech in Detroit.
All cable TV networks immediately cut to the president’s surprise appearance, with CNN making explicitly clear that they were ditching Harris for Biden.
‘We were actually about to go live to Vice President Kamala Harris who’s speaking right now in Detroit, Michigan,’ CNN anchor Boris Sanchez said.
‘Apparently she’s talking about this port strike ending, she’s trying to appeal to union workers, and yet you have the President of the United States come out, clearly overshadowing her, answering significant questions,’ he continued.
Political strategist Frank Luntz, who was a guest on CNN at the time, observed that had the teams of the president and vice president been coordinating ‘this would not have happened.’
Republicans have been making political hay of the president’s apparent need for attention.
Trump has falsely claimed it shows Biden hates Harris more than him.
The Republican nominee said: ‘Did you see he (Biden) held a news conference right in the middle of her one big event that she’s had in about two weeks?
‘He got up and held a news conference,’ the former president added in disbelief.
Some of the tension may arise from how Harris has campaigned as an agent of change, trying to distance herself from the president’s administration and win favor with those who have ‘Biden fatigue.’
In response, Biden has tied himself to her repeatedly.
‘As president, there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do, and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy, domestic policy,’ Biden told ABC’s The View of Harris in late September.
It is a common problem for candidates running in the same party as the incumbent president – how to take credit for the accomplishments but, at the same time, be different from the occupant of the Oval Office.
Voters crave change and trying to deliver on that while remaining loyal to the current commander-in-chief can be a tough balancing act.
It’s not just Biden and Harris who have struggled.
Hillary Clinton tried to differentiate herself from Barack Obama and ‘Obama fatigue’ in the 2016 election. George H.W. Bush had to deal with the shadow of Ronald Reagan in 1988.
But the most infamous example may be Dwight Eisenhower’s comment on his then-vice president Richard Nixon in the 1960 campaign. Eisenhower was asked for an example of what Nixon contributed to his administration.
‘If you give me a week, I might think of one,’ he replied.
Biden is no stranger to a quick quip and a cheap shot. It’s often how he expresses his unhappiness with someone.
Shortly after he dropped out of the 2024 race, he was asked about his legacy with LGBTQ Americans.
He pointed to comments he made in 2011, when he was vice president, and expressed his support for same sex-marriage. At the time, his comments caught then-President Obama off guard.
‘Well, I’m really proud of my position,’ Biden said. ‘I was the first guy to come out for gay marriage. Remember that little problem with the Obama administration?’
Many saw his words as a dig at the former president, who worked behind the scenes this summer to push Biden out of the presidential race.
And, for Biden, there could also be that twinge of regret that he gave up his position of power after working over 40 years to get there.
‘Do you want to reconsider dropping out of the race?’ a reporter asked him on Friday.
Biden, who was on his way out of the press briefing room, paused to answer.
‘I’m back in,’ he said, smiling.
It was a joke but, as he watches his vice president running for his job, perhaps he would really like to be.