Vice President Harris on Friday defended her reluctance to publicly break with President Biden, saying it is a “tradition” among vice presidents not to criticize their bosses.
“I want to be very frank with you: The vice president, including Mike Pence, has not criticized the president, in fact, both in terms of his heritage and in terms of what’s going to happen. But I don’t think it’s going to be a productive, significant relationship,” Harris told NBC’s Peter Alexander during a campaign stop in Michigan.
Although Pence has remained fiercely loyal to Trump throughout his tenure, the former vice president broke with his boss on a number of issues during last year’s primaries.
Harris said she plans to use her life experience to govern differently than Biden. In terms of policy, he cited expanding Medicare coverage for home health care, expanding aid for first-time homebuyers, and expanding support for small businesses, among other proposals he proposed during his campaign.
“These are the experiences and ideas that will help me move forward and actually be a part of America’s next generation of leadership,” Harris said.
Harris will remain loyal to Biden, tout her accomplishments over the past four years, and simultaneously extend an olive branch to voters on both sides of the aisle concerned that the country is heading in the wrong direction. I had to walk that tightrope.
This week, she and Biden both made it clear that she will govern differently than the current occupant of the Oval Office.
“Folks, Kamala is going to lead this country in her direction, and that’s one of the most important differences in this election,” Biden said Tuesday. “Kamala’s perspective on our issues will be refreshing. Donald Trump’s perspective is old, failed, and frankly, thoroughly dishonest.”
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Harris cited her life experiences, policy proposals and seeking input from Republicans and business leaders, saying her presidency would be “like Joe Biden’s presidency.” It is not a continuation of that.” Her appearance on Fox itself marked a break from Biden, who had no involvement with the network during his presidential term.
During last week’s media blitz, Ms. Harris was asked twice in the same day about her differences with Mr. Biden. Harris told “The View” that she “couldn’t think of anything” she would have done differently than Biden. When asked a similar question by Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” Harris again struggled to get specific.
“I’m clearly not Joe Biden,” Harris said. “That would be a change.”
Trump has played clips of Harris’ remarks on “The View” at every campaign rally over the past week, trying to convince voters that the vice president should take responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. There is. Inflation and a surge in immigration at the southern border.
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