Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is giving President Joe Biden's overtures to help her on the campaign trail the cold shoulder.
"We'll get back to you," three sources told Axios about what Harris' campaign is telling Biden officials offering to help in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
"Harris' team believes Biden is a political liability at a crucial time in the campaign — but is reluctant to directly say they don't want him to campaign for her," Axios' Alex Thompson reported Sunday.
Polling has consistently shown immigration, the economy, and inflation are the top voting issues, and Harris was tapped by Biden as the border czar to investigate "root causes" of mass illegal migration. Meanwhile, Republican talking heads say Biden's economy has not worked well for middle-class and poorer Americans amid massive inflation on energy, groceries, and basic consumer goods.
"One person familiar with the situation compared it to a slow-moving break-up: Harris' team and allies respect Biden's service, but are wary of further tying Harris to the unpopular president on the campaign trail," according to Thompson's reporting.
Biden's team has held days open for campaigning, only to remain sidelined and not given the go-ahead, two sources told Axios.
"He's a reminder of the last four years, not the new way forward," another source added.
White House officials disputed the veracity of the source's claims.
"There is always speculation in political circles, but this is not accurate," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios in a statement. "We are in close touch with the campaign to determine when, where and how the president can be helpful."
Notably, amid some shaky polling in Pennsylvania, Biden's team believes he can help there — a state he considered his home — and the Rust Belt, Axios reported.
Biden's 2020 victory over Trump featured strength exceeding Hillary Clinton's performance in those pivotal states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, ultimately handing Biden the White House over Trump.
The cold silence between the Harris campaign and Biden is evident in public, too, sources told Axios, noting a Biden appearance in Pittsburgh to campaign this weekend was left off the Harris "Day Ahead" memo Saturday outlining surrogates' campaign trail appearances.
Notably, a Harris campaign event earlier in October went on as Biden made an impromptu White House briefing appearance that some considered stepping on the campaign timing and messaging, Axios reported.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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