The White House sidestepped a question over whether President Joe Biden would lend his vice president an automatic endorsement if she chooses to run for the presidency.
“I don’t have any predictions of whether she will run, when she will run — I will leave that to her,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Calling Harris “a key partner” and “bold leader,” Psaki said Biden chose her because “he felt she was exactly the person he wanted to have by his side to govern the country.”
HARRIS’S PARIS TRIP DOESN’T SOLVE HER GROWING POLITICAL PROBLEMS AT HOME
Since taking office, Harris has faced persistent criticism, including her handling of Northern Triangle migration, lack of progress on Democrats’ voting agenda, and failure to push back on a student who accused Israel of “ethnic genocide.”
Recent reports have raised frustrations among the vice president’s allies that she is getting short shrift from the White House — and among White House aides that see Harris’s team failing to seize opportunities.
“I can tell you that there’s been a lot of reports out there, and they don’t reflect his view or our experience with the vice president,” Psaki said Monday in response to the allegations.
“Here’s what I know,” she continued. “I know that the president relies on the vice president for her advice, for her counsel. She’s somebody who is not only taking on issues that are challenging, she’s not looking for a cushy role here. No vice president is, no president is.
“She’s somebody that is a valuable member of the team, and he expects — you can all expect — to be out there, out in the country on the infrastructure bill, and he’ll look forward to having her out there too.”
An endorsement from above isn’t a given.
After announcing his entry into the 2020 presidential race, Biden waited months before scoring former President Barack Obama’s public support. By the time his former boss weighed in, the field had already narrowed considerably.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Whether Harris should expect the same treatment isn’t clear, as Biden has so far given every indication that he intends to run again. Still, the president’s advanced age has former rivals from the 2020 primary positioning themselves should a chance present itself to compete for the top spot.
The vice president’s poll numbers have drawn attention to her troubles. Her support is often pegged below Biden’s, whose own approval ratings typically land underwater.
Underpinning this is whether Harris can pull together a winning coalition if she is to succeed Biden. Democrats appear unsure.
