Biden doubted Harris' election chances
President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Kamala Harriswasn't up to taking on Donald Trump, according to three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans.
Why it matters: Biden, 81, ultimately decided to withdraw under pressure from the party and endorsed Harris, but his private anxieties reflect broader questions among some Democratic leaders about Harris as their nominee this November.
Driving the news: This next week will be critical for Harris, 59, to prove doubters wrong as she moves quickly to try to clear the field of potential challengers for the Democratic nomination.
Zoom in: Harris' time as vice president has been occasionally rocky, defined in part by large staff turnover, retreating from politically risky responsibilities, and mocking from some Beltway insiders.
- Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton and many Democratic lawmakers quickly endorsed Harris, but others — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former President Barack Obama — did not immediately do so.
- "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead," Obama said in a statement. "But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."
Former Harris aides told Axios the high turnover is partly because of how the vice president treats her staff.
- Much of Harris' staff has turned over in the past 3½ years.
- About half of the vice president's staff is paid by the Senate, which requires regular disclosures. Of the 47 Harris staffers listed in 2021, only five still worked for her as of this spring, according to the disclosures. Her full staff list is not publicly disclosed.
- During Obama's first term, then-Vice President Biden had far more staff stability, as 17 of 38 of his aides stayed with him over a similar period, according to the disclosures for staff paid by the Senate.
During the 2020 campaign, Biden aides recall watching Harris interrogate her then-chief of staff Karine Jean-Pierre to the point that it made others uncomfortable.
- Some former aides said Harris had high standards that some did not want to keep up with, but others felt that she frequently grilled them the way she grilled Trump officials, such as then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when she represented California in the U.S. Senate.
- Former aides often refer to it as Harris' "prosecuting the staff."
The intrigue: The relationship between the vice president's office and the West Wing has often been tense.
- After the election, Jean-Pierre moved to the White House's press team.
- A person familiar with the matter said Biden told Jean-Pierre that she was only "on loan" during the campaign and that her move to the White House was always part of the plan.
Even so, Dunn worked to elevate Harris during Biden's campaign, particularly with Harris' work in pushing to defend abortion rights.
- White House aides sometimes felt Harris wasn't a team player and stayed away from any task with risk.
- But some Harris aides felt that the White House, particularly top aide Anita Dunn, wasn't helpful to the vice president.
- At times, Harris aides suspected Biden's team didn't want to give Harris opportunities to shine to avoid her being seen as a viable alternative to Biden ahead of his re-election bid.
The tensions between the Biden and Harris staffs could get personal, however.
- In response to questions for this article, Harris' chief of staff Lorraine Voles said in a statement: "Anita is a supportive colleague who works closely every day with the Office of the Vice President."
- Some Harris senior aides told others they resented how Biden's team got frustratedwith the optics of Meena Harris, the vice president's niece, publishing a children's book just before Biden's inauguration — but then celebrated when Hunter Biden published his book months later.
- Voles added that Biden and Harris' many achievements in the president's term were "possible in part due to the hard work of the White House staff who view themselves as one team."
- But some Democrats found the Biden team's quiet trashing of Harris ironic, given that they had complained for the past decade about how Obama aides had done the same thing to Biden when he was vice president.
Zoom out: Some of the tensions between the Biden and Harris teams are because the principals are very different people, aides to both told Axios.
Between the lines: Harris has been cautious and reluctant to participate in events that weren't tightly controlled, Harris and Biden aides said.
- Biden is a white Irish Catholic man who learned politics by trying to shake every hand in the small state of Delaware.
- Harris, 22 years younger, is a multiracial woman who worked her way up in the much larger state of California, where political races often are won by how much money you can raise.
- There are personality differences as well: Harris is much more attuned to the pop culture of movies and music, while Biden rarely engages with pop culture in that way.
In April 2022, Harris was the guest for a dinner at D.C. news mogul David Bradley's home — a salon-style event Bradley hosts with Washington journalists and newsmakers.
- In 2022, the White House internally pushed Harris to be the headliner for D.C.'s traditional Gridiron Dinner, but she resisted. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo did it instead.
- Harris has faced race-baiting from some conservatives, and at times has focused on critical coverage of her in ways aides have found unhelpful — like when she has watched Fox News' "The Five."
The other side: In endorsing Harris, Biden said that "my very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it's been the best decision I've made."
- Harris' anxiety about the dinner was such that her staff held a mock dinner beforehand, with staffers playing participants, according to two people familiar with the event.
- Harris aides even considered including wine in the mock prep so Harris could practice with a glass or two.
- They ultimately decided against it.
- White House communications director Ben LaBolt added that Harris "has been incredibly loyal and dedicated."
- Rachel Palermo, Harris' former deputy communications director, told Axios that Harris "has high standards because she is well prepared" and that "she is an incredible legal mind."
- Carmel Martin, Harris' former domestic policy adviser, added: "I never felt grilled by the vice president. I think she holds high standards for her staff but she is also a great boss and mentor."
- White House aides sometimes felt Harris wasn't a team player and stayed away from any task with risk.
Harris' time as vice president has been occasionally rocky, defined in part by large staff turnover, retreating from politically risky responsibilities, and mocking from some Beltway insiders.
So would Harris be better to reduce global tensions? Though I doubt it.
