WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ team this week discussed ways to clarify her answers to questions about how she would differentiate herself from President Joe Biden, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Harris’ answers — including one in which she said she couldn’t think of anything other than Biden — quickly became fodder for her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who has played a video clip of the exchange at campaign rallies when a majority of voters have still an unfavorable view of the current president.
Discussions within Harris’ team included how to put more distance between herself and Biden, the people familiar with the discussions said, and what that would entail in the final weeks of the 2024 race.
Polls consistently show Biden standing in the way of Harris’ candidacy and voters longing for a new direction. But Harris hesitated to be critical of Biden by outright criticizing his presidency. “Her level of loyalty is incredible,” the source said.
She has put forward a number of new policy ideas. She proposed creating a “Medicare at home” program, which would allow older adults to receive more inpatient care instead of having to rely on nursing homes.
She is releasing her medical records, a move intended to show that she is young and vibrant, unlike 81-year-old Biden and 78-year-old Trump.
There are several additional areas where Harris could do this, including health care economics and overall leadership style, but no final strategy has been set, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Harris would try to somewhat subtly distance himself from Biden, likely giving the White House a heads up before doing so, three of the people familiar with the discussions said.
Since she declared her candidacy in July, Harris has tried to walk a fine line between praising Biden’s leadership and record and defining her agenda by explaining to voters how she will deliver her campaign slogan of “a new way forward ‘ would represent.
When asked on “The View” Tuesday if she would have done anything differently than Biden over the past four years, Harris first said, “There’s nothing that comes to mind,” arguing that she has been part of “the most of the decisions that have had an impact.”
Trump and his campaign quickly seized the line, playing twice at rallies in Pennslyvania on Wednesday.
“So her response that she wouldn’t do anything differently is disqualifying. Kamala Harris is downright incompetent. She cannot be trusted,” Trump said.
Later in the ABC interview, Harris raised one area where she has vowed to differ from the president if elected: appointing a Republican to her Cabinet, adding that she does not feel “burdened by letting pride get in the way of a good idea. .”
On Friday, she went a step further, pledging to create a bipartisan council of policy advisers if she wins. The group would then recommend “practical” ideas to “help improve the lives of Americans” in areas such as small businesses, affordable housing, mental health care and veteran care, a Harris campaign official said.
Just hours after her interview on “The View,” Harris faced a similar question from Stephen Colbert, who asked what big changes would be evident in a potential Harris administration and what might stay the same.
“Well, I mean, I’m obviously not Joe Biden,” she said. “But I also think it’s important to say, with 28 days to go, I’m not Donald Trump,” without giving a specific example.
Harris gave a similar answer during her debate with Trump last month, which Biden paid particular attention to, NBC News reported.
Biden was particularly stung by the line, according to three people familiar with his comments.
But at the same time, the president recently noted to his top aides that Harris will likely have to “draw more contrasts with him” in the coming weeks and that there is no “major concern” about that, a fourth person familiar with his comments said.
“She has to do what it takes to win,” the source said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com