President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Kamala Harris will have to “cut her own path” if she wins in November, as the vice president has faced criticism for not distancing herself enough from Biden, despite his unpopularity, following her ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket.
In a speech at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner, Biden spoke about his own transition from serving as vice president under President Barack Obama to being elected president in November 2020.
“Every president has to cut their own path,” Biden said. “That’s what I did. I was loyal to Barack Obama, but I cut my own path as president. That’s what Kamala is going to do. She’s been loyal so far, but she’s going to cut her own path.”
President Biden in Pennsylvania: “Every president has to cut their own path. That’s what I did. I was loyal to Barack Obama, but I cut my own path as president. That’s what Kamala is going to do. She’s been loyal so far, but she’s going to cut her own path.” pic.twitter.com/dQ08z0qFqY
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 15, 2024
Harris has come under scrutiny for not painting enough of a contrast between herself and Biden since becoming the Democratic nominee. Biden endorsed Harris after he dropped out of the race following his poor performance in the June debate against former President Donald Trump, raising questions about his fitness to serve another term.
Trump has sought to tie Harris to Biden in an effort to seize on Biden’s unpopularity as reflected in public polling. Biden’s approval rating currently stands at just over 40%, according to an average of polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
At a Saturday campaign rally in Southern California, Trump highlighted some of Harris’ recent comments from ABC’s “The View.”
“Would you have done something differently than President Biden in the past four years?” co-host Sunny Hostin asked Harris.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” the vice president replied. “I have been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact,” citing the example of the administration’s achievement of lowering the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients.
“How dumb an answer,” Trump said at his rally. “It disqualifies her from running.”
Voters seem eager to see some daylight between Biden and Harris. An ABC News-Ipsos poll published last week showed that 74% of respondents want Harris to pursue a new direction if she wins the presidency.
Her campaign has been working to fine-tune her message on how a potential Harris administration would look different from Biden’s as Election Day nears, according to NBC News.
During his speech in Pennsylvania, Biden instead chose to draw a contrast between Harris and Trump, saying the Democrat will take the country “in her own direction” and offer a “fresh and new” approach on how to address the challenges facing the U.S.
“Donald Trump’s perspective is old and failed and quite frankly thoroughly, totally dishonest,” Biden said.
