When Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her marquee closing address on the Ellipse last night to tens of thousands of supporters, President Biden was tucked away at the White House and purposefully out of sight.
His absence from the high-profile event in his backyard was the latest example of how Biden has been pushed to the sidelines of a campaign that once centered on him. His diminished role has been difficult for him, according to people who have been in touch with Biden and his team recently. One person who has spoken with the president described him as “somewhat regretful” at times about leaving the presidential campaign. Others say he has shifted his focus to building his legacy, which will include his presidential library.
Fading into the background of the campaign has been bittersweet. “Logically he knows it’s the right decision. As a human being with emotions, it’s hard not to be there for the final hurrah,” said one person who has been in close contact with Biden’s team. “It’s sad to end on that note. He wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.”
Harris faces liabilities in being closely tied to Biden, given voters are upset about high inflation and a surge in illegal crossings at the southern U.S. border during their administration. Her remarks on “The View” suggesting she wouldn’t have done anything differently from Biden have become a central line of attack for Republicans.
Fifty-seven percent of voters have an unfavorable opinion of Biden, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll. Among the independent voters who Harris hopes to win over, 65% give him an unfavorable rating, the survey showed.
The president on Tuesday night caused a headache for Harris’s campaign when he appeared to say that Trump’s supporters are “garbage” while on a call with Latino voters. The White House said Biden was referring to one person: Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian who made crude comments at Donald Trump’s Sunday rally. But Republicans seized on the comment, comparing it to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 reference to Trump’s backers as “deplorables.”
Read full story at The Wall Street Journal.
