Et Tu, Biden?
President Biden is so bitter about being forced to drop his re-election bid by top members of his own party that he’s deliberately sabotaging Kamala Harris’ campaign, according to a growing chorus of political pundits.
Since being pressured out of the race in July over fears about declining cognitive abilities, Biden has done little for Harris beyond endorsing her, and has largely been a no-show at his vice president’s campaign events.
He’s also pulled the spotlight from his intended successor on numerous occasions, including delivering his own comments last week on how the White House is responding to Hurricane Helene — even after Harris cancelled a Las Vegas campaign event and hurried back to DC to be briefed on the storm’s impact.
The lame-duck leader has also served up a plethora of cringe-worthy actions that have left Donald Trump-loving conservatives salivating. They include sporting a “Trump 2024” cap during a 9/11 anniversary event last month, and praising Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday for how he’s prepped the Sunshine State to handle Hurricane Milton — one day after Harris complained the DeSantis didn’t take her call.
“Biden is intentionally enacting revenge on Kamala for knifing him in the back,” claimed Jason Meister, a Republican political strategist who sits on the advisory board for Trump’s campaign.
“He never liked her. The happiest he’s looked in four years was when he put a red [Trump 2024] hat on after speaking with Shanksville, [Pa.] firefighters [last month] on 9/11. He should just come out and endorse Trump.”
Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic strategist called Biden’s refusal to embrace Harris’ campaign is a possible “power move” to “ensure that people understand who the boss still is.”
“It would be absolutely ridiculous to assume that he has no resentment over how he was treated or how, frankly, he was forced out in what some would describe as a coup,” the veteran campaign consultant said.
“Why hasn’t he appeared in places where he could do some good, like parts of Pennsylvania and states that the president has buoyed during his term? Nobody wants to give up being president of the United States – it’s the one job you don’t want to leave.”
While speaking at Trump’s campaign rally in Scranton, Pa., on Wednesday, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also took a swipe at Biden’s loyalty.
“Somewhere deep down inside, in a place that he doesn’t want to admit, I think maybe Joe Biden is actually rooting for it,” said Ramaswamy, referring to Trump potentially winning the support of Biden’s hometown and the rest of the Keystone State.
On Thursday, Ramaswamy doubled down on his remarks, telling The Post “I think it’s clear that Joe is still bruised by what happened.”
“I don’t think he would have won [a second term], but in his views, and those of his family, they probably think that they were robbed of it,” he added.
Trump campaign spokesperson Caroline Sunshine said “Harris doesn’t need help sabotaging her campaign because she does that herself every time she speaks without a teleprompter, [but] it’s important to remember there is absolutely no daylight between President Biden and Kamala Harris on policy.”
“Kamala Harris has said herself she wouldn’t do a single thing differently these last four years, and our campaign will be reminding voters of this fact every day between now and Nov. 5,” Sunshine said.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said critics “seem to have missed” that Biden “made clear he was all-in for” Harris “out of the gate when he left the campaign, and has consistently fought for her and praised her leadership to the country.
“He believes fiercely in an agenda that will move us into the future, away from unhinged divisiveness and extreme policies the country can’t afford to go back to, like MAGAnomics and a national abortion ban,” the spokesman said.
Another Biden camp source insisted the president was unaware DeSantis refused to take Harris’ call about Hurricane Milton when he called the Florida governor “gracious” and praised him for the state’s response to the hurricane.
