On differences with Biden, Harris says ‘not a thing that comes to mind’
Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that she could not think of a difference with President Joe Biden over the past four years, quickly attracting criticism from Republicans who have been working to make her answer for the unpopular president she replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris made the comment during an interview on “The View” when asked if she would have done something differently than Biden during his presidency.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind … and I’ve been part of most of the decisions that have had impact,” Harris said, going on to tout their accomplishments together, such as letting Medicare negotiate drug prices.
She revisited the topic toward the end of the interview while reiterating her promise to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected.
“You asked me what’s the difference between Joe Biden and me?” Harris said. “Well, that will be one of the differences.”
Republicans responded to Harris’s initial comment within minutes.
“There you have it, folks,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on X. “Kamala wouldn’t change a thing that’s happened over the four years. If you elect her, you can expect four more years of the same: Inflation. Border crisis. Crime. War. Chaos. Division. Only President Trump will bring CHANGE!”
Trump reposted the clip of Harris’s comment on his Truth Social network.
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, brought up Harris’s interview on “The View” during a campaign stop Tuesday afternoon in Michigan. He first disparaged her intelligence, saying he is “not sure that she can think of anything off the top of her head, whether about Joe Biden’s policies or anything else.”
“Her entire campaign has been to pretend that she doesn’t bear any responsibility for the policies, even though she’s the sitting vice president,” Vance said. “The big difference is that Donald Trump has a record to be proud of, and Kamala Harris has a record to be ashamed of.”
Harris has had to balance embracing a president with whom she served while also proposing “a new way forward” in her campaign. Before he ended his reelection bid in July, Biden was suffering from dismal approval ratings and trailing Trump in polling in some key battleground states.
Polls still show more Americans believe the country is on the wrong track than the right track.
At the same time, a national poll released earlier Tuesday showed that Harris has gained on Trump when it comes to being viewed as the candidate of change. Forty-six percent of likely voters in the New York Times/Siena College poll said Harris represents change, while 44 percent said the same of Trump.
Biden has also boasted of a tight alliance with Harris. He told reporters Friday at the White House that he and she are “singing from the same song sheet” and that she has been a “major player in everything we’ve done.”
The vice president’s interview on “The View” was part of an increase in her media appearances this week, including in less-traditional settings. She appeared on an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that came out Sunday, and after “The View” on Tuesday she sat for an interview with satellite radio host Howard Stern.
Speaking with Stern, Harris praised Biden and repeated that she intends to select a Republican Cabinet member if she wins. She suggested it was premature to say who it would be after Stern predicted she would select Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who has endorsed Harris and appeared with her at a campaign event last week.
“He’s such a good person,” Harris told Stern of Biden, referring to the president’s July decision to end his reelection bid. “History is going to show it was probably one of the … rarest moments of any president to do — with courage — with the deepest level of courage and love of country.”
Harris is scheduled to appear Tuesday night on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS, followed by a town hall with Univision on Thursday in Nevada.