President Joe Biden’s fall campaign plans for Vice President Kamala Harris have been notably underwhelming so far. After promising to hit the road following a Labor Day appearance in Pittsburgh, Biden’s presence on the campaign trail has been scarce. His sole campaign event was alongside Harris on Labor Day, but since then, his official events have overshadowed hers, drawing attention away from his intended successor.
The situation became more pronounced after Hurricane Helene struck. While Harris canceled campaign events in Las Vegas to attend a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing in Washington, Biden simultaneously delivered his own storm response comments from the Oval Office, effectively stealing the spotlight. This lack of presidential campaigning and scheduling conflicts could significantly impact not only Harris but also Democrats’ efforts to maintain Senate control, reclaim the House, and succeed in lower-ballot races.
Adding to the complexity, former President Barack Obama has announced his intention to campaign for Harris. Obama will appear in Pittsburgh on Thursday and plans to spend the remaining time before the November 5 election traveling to battleground states. He has also recorded ads promoting Democratic Senate candidates in Michigan, Maryland, and Florida.
Finding the right balance between fulfilling the job and carving out a role in a successor’s campaign is a common challenge for lame-duck presidents. Biden’s situation is unique because he was seeking a second term until his dramatic departure from the race left Harris with a condensed time frame for her own run.
“I think he’s doing his job as president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “I think that’s the most important thing.” Hurricane Helene has complicated matters in the short term. Biden canceled a campaign stop in Pennsylvania last week, and he and Harris made separate trips to the Carolinas and Georgia to survey the damage and offer support. Their remarks, however, did not overlap this time. But on Friday, while Harris was speaking about the importance of unions outside Detroit, Biden caused a stir by making a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, a first for his presidency.
Biden has taken official trips to battleground states and will be in suburban Philadelphia on Tuesday to campaign for Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. The Harris team has declined to comment on its hopes for Biden’s campaign role. The president was born in Pennsylvania and maintains a strong connection to its union leaders and blue-collar voters. Former Democratic National Committee chief Donna Brazile said she would “put him on a bus” to campaign there. “I would make sure he is out there in the closing weeks and days of the campaign,” Brazile said. “He connects with people she will need.”
Despite their limited joint campaign appearances, Biden and Harris have appeared together at several official events, including one at the White House on combating gun violence and a health care-related event in August where Biden said, “We cannot let Kamala lose.” Both have been in the Situation Room frequently to discuss the growing conflict in the Middle East. On Labor Day, when Biden and Harris made their lone joint political appearance since Harris took over the top spot on the ticket, the White House asked that Biden introduce Harris. This break with protocol was meant to highlight her record of supporting union workers.
“If you elect Kamala Harris as president, it will be the best decision you will have ever made,” Biden told the crowd. But when he finished speaking, Biden began shaking hands with those around him — an awkward moment because Harris had yet to have her turn at the podium.
It remains an open question whether Harris really wants Biden’s help, given that Democratic voters say they are far happier with her than they were with Biden as their nominee. Harris has praised the administration and her work in it, while also seeking to show distance on some key issues. This includes her call for raising long-term capital gains taxes for wealthy Americans when Biden had pushed to lower them, getting tougher on the U.S.-Mexico border by potentially further stiffening limits for immigrants seeking asylum, and talking up being a gun owner in ways Biden does not.
Biden’s campaign absence could now be compounded as his administration deals with the recovery effort after Helene and the expanding conflict in the Middle East. “You don’t need to campaign when you’re just doing your job,” said Nikki Fried, chair of the Democratic Party in Florida. Biden visited parts of the state on Thursday, demonstrating, as Fried put it, that “the full force of the federal government stands with the people during times of heartbreak and uncertainty.” But there are always significant demands on a president’s time, from the U.N. General Assembly meetings last month in New York to Biden’s upcoming travel to Germany and Angola.
While the White House says there will be more political events after that, the trip means he will not have time to turn his attention to campaigning for Harris until at least mid-October, just three weeks before Election Day. Fried believes Biden will make it work. “Joe Biden loves being on the campaign trail,” she said. “You can see him walking around and talking to voters and to communities, and it certainly puts an extra lift in his step and a smile on his face.”
There are instances where a president’s absence can be beneficial to that party’s candidate. In 2008, the financial crisis sent President George W. Bush’s approval ratings plummeting. Republican nominee John McCain distanced himself from the White House on the economy after criticizing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War. “If my showing up and endorsing him helps him — or if I’m against him and it helps him — either way, I want him to win,” Bush said.
In 2000, when Democratic Vice President Al Gore was seeking the White House, he criticized President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal and took other steps to distance himself from Clinton. Some Democrats later speculated that this was the reason Gore lost an exceedingly close race to Bush.
Paul Begala, a key architect of Clinton’s 1992 campaign, does not see a lot of parallels between Clinton and Biden. “In 2000, Clinton was broadly popular,” Begala said. “Biden is not.” Begala believes Biden would be best to “focus on governing and leave the campaigning to Kamala” and her top supporters. “Lots of people can campaign for her: the Obamas, the Clintons, Oprah, Taylor Swift,” Begala said. “But only Joe Biden can be president.”
