Harris says she's following 'tradition' of VPs not criticizing their president

Vice President Harris on Friday defended her reluctance to break publicly with President Biden, calling it a “tradition” among vice presidents not to criticize their bosses.

“I mean to be very candid with you; including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents. I think that really, actually, in terms of the tradition of it, and also just going forward, it does not make for a productive and important relationship,” Harris told NBC’s Peter Alexander during a campaign stop in Michigan.

Pence was fiercely loyal to Trump throughout their time in office together, though the former vice president broke with his boss on a number of issues during a primary campaign last year.

Harris noted she would bring her own life experiences to govern differently from Biden. On policy, she cited some of her proposals on the campaign trail, including expanded Medicare coverage for home care, increased assistance for first-time homebuyers and more aid for small businesses.

“Those are the experiences and the ideas that I have that are about moving forward and really being a part of the next generation of leadership in America,” Harris said.

Harris has had to walk a tightrope between remaining loyal to Biden and touting the accomplishments of the past four years, while also extending an olive branch to voters on both sides of the aisle who worry the country is heading in the wrong direction.

This week, she and Biden both made clear that she would govern differently than the current occupant of the Oval Office.

“Folks, Kamala will take the country in her own direction. And that’s one of the most important differences in this election,” Biden said Tuesday. “Kamala’s perspective on our problems will be fresh and new. Donald Trump’s perspective is old and failed and, quite frankly, thoroughly, totally dishonest.” 

In a Wednesday interview with Fox News, Harris said her presidency “will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” citing her own life experience, her policy proposals and her desire for input from Republicans and business leaders. Her appearance on Fox was itself a break from Biden, who has not sat down with the network at all during his presidency.

During a media blitz last week, Harris was asked twice in the same day about her differences with Biden. Harris told “The View” there was “not a thing that comes to mind” she would have done differently from Biden. Asked a similar question by Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” Harris again struggled to point to anything specific.

“I’m obviously not Joe Biden,” Harris said. “So that would be one change.”

Trump has played a clip of Harris’s remarks on “The View” at each of his campaign rallies over the past week, seeking to make the case to voters that the vice president should be held accountable for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, persistent inflation and a surge in immigration at the southern border.