White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday pushed back on the idea that Vice President Kamala Harris has struggled to distinguish herself from President Biden on the campaign trail.
A reporter suggested Harris has had difficulty separating herself from Biden’s domestic and foreign policy positions in “interview after interview.”
“Does she have a green light? If she wanted to express a different point of view than the administration on any topic — foreign or domestic — she could do so? Or, is she required to be a loyal vice president to President Biden.”
“I disagree,” Jean-Pierre shot back, arguing that she’s seen Harris as “incredibly strong” and “very clear-eyed” in interviews.
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“She has indeed been a partner with this president and these successes that we have seen from this administration,” Jean-Pierre said.
She said Biden has seen Harris as loyal but understands that she will be charting “her own path” forward.
Pressed again to respond to allegations that Harris has failed to distinguish policy positions from Biden, Jean-Pierre said: “I’ve not seen that.”
Jean-Pierre said she had instead seen a vice president who “has shown strength and leadership” and one who “cares about the American people.”
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“That’s what we have seen. That’s what many of the American people want to see. They want to see a fighter. And that’s who she is,” Jean-Pierre said.
Since formally garnering the nomination for vice president, Harris has received flak for what critics believe has been her failure to clearly demonstrate how a Harris administration would be different from the Biden administration.
The question was put to Harris at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday. Asked to name one policy she would’ve done differently over the last three-and-a-half years, Harris dismissed the question, saying it was not the tradition of vice presidents to criticize their presidents.
And earlier this month, Harris told the co-hosts of “The View” she couldn’t think of anything significant she would’ve done differently than Biden.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris said when asked the question.
When asked the same question during an interview with Stephen Colbert, Harris said: “I’m obviously not Joe Biden.”
The vice president has hinted at what a Harris administration would look like. During a border visit last month, Harris proposed toughening Biden’s border policies.
Harris has affirmed her support for legalizing marijuana saying: “I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing it.” The vice president has also proposed lowering the capital gains taxes from the levelels under President Biden.
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