WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ team has been discussing ways to clean up her responses to questions this week about how she would differentiate herself from President Joe Biden, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Harris’ answers — including one where she said she couldn’t think of anything she’d do differently than Biden — quickly became fodder for her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who has played a video clip of the exchange at campaign rallies as a majority of voters still view the current president unfavorably.
The discussions within Harris’ team have included how she could put more distance between her and Biden, the people familiar with the discussions said, as well as what that would entail in the final weeks of the 2024 race.
Polling has consistently found that Biden is a drag on Harris’ candidacy and that voters are eager for a new direction. But Harris has been reluctant to be critical of Biden by outright critiquing his presidency. “Her level of loyalty is incredible,” one source said.
She has offered some new policy ideas. She proposed creating a “Medicare at home” program, that would allow elderly people to get more in-residence care instead of relying on nursing homes.
She is releasing her medical records, a move that is meant to show she is young and vivacious, in contrast to the 81-year-old Biden and 78-year-old Trump.
There are several additional areas in which Harris might do this, including the care economy and overall leadership style, but no final strategy has been settled on, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Harris would seek to distance herself from Biden somewhat delicately, likely giving the White House a heads up before doing so, three of the people familiar with the discussions said.
Since declaring her candidacy in July, Harris has tried to walk a fine line between praising Biden’s leadership and record, and defining her agenda by explaining to voters how she would represent her campaign slogan of “a new way forward.”
On Tuesday, when asked on “The View” whether she would have done anything differently than Biden over the last four years, Harris first said: “There is not a thing that comes to mind,” arguing that she has been part of “most of the decisions that have had impact.”
Trump and his campaign quickly seized on the line, playing it twice during rallies in Pennslyvania on Wednesday.
“So her answer that she would do nothing different is disqualifying. Kamala Harris is grossly incompetent. She cannot be trusted,” Trump said.
Later in the ABC interview, Harris raised one area where she has promised to differ from the president, if elected: appointing a Republican to her Cabinet, adding that she doesn’t “feel burdened by letting pride get in the way of a good idea.”
On Friday, she took that a step further, vowing to establish a bipartisan council of policy advisers if she wins. The group would then recommend “practical” ideas to “help improve Americans’ lives” in areas like small businesses, affordable housing, mental health care and veterans’ care, per a Harris campaign aide.
Just hours after her interview on “The View,” Harris faced the same type of question by Stephen Colbert, who asked what major changes would be clear in a potential Harris administration and what might stay the same.
“Well, I mean, I’m obviously not Joe Biden,” she said. “But also, I think it’s important to say with, you know, 28 days to go, I’m not Donald Trump,” without offering a specific example.
Harris delivered a similar answer during her debate with Trump last month, which Biden took particular note of, NBC News has reported.
Biden was particularly stung by the line, according to three people familiar with his comments.
But, at the same time, the president has recently remarked to his top aides that Harris will probably have to “draw more contrasts” with him in the weeks ahead and there’s no “huge concern” over that, a fourth person familiar with his comments said.
“She should do whatever she needs to do to win,” the source said.
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