President Joe Biden’s greatest gift to Kamala Harris may not be stepping aside and passing the torch to his vice president. It may be making her look younger.
Vice President Harris’ youth is magnified on the campaign trail with President Biden, according to one expert.
Elizabeth Bomberg, Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, told Newsweek, “Harris’ strong suits of youth and energy are all magnified when she tours with and stands next to an elderly Biden.”
Biden and Harris are set to make their first joint campaign appearance together since the president withdrew from the 2024 race following pressure from high-profile Democrats.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Biden and Harris will visit Maryland on Thursday to unveil a new policy to lower prescription drug costs.
The policy will provide discounts with pharmaceutical companies on 10 drugs prescribed to treat blood clots, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
The prescription drugs include Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and the insulins Fiasp and NovoLog.
“For years, millions of Americans were forced to choose between paying for medications or putting food on the table, while Big Pharma blocked Medicare from being able to negotiate prices on behalf of seniors and people with disabilities,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “But we fought back—and won.”
Bomberg told Newsweek that Biden “touring alongside Harris will underline the unity of the Democratic party.”
Matt Kelle/AP
Before Biden withdrew from the race, the Democratic Party was engulfed in a civil war over the incumbent president’s decision to stay in the race after his disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump.
“We can never predict how the public will react, and media reporting of that joint tour will matter a lot,” Bomberg said.
“I wouldn’t expect the tour to hurt Harris in the polls. Biden is no longer the intensely unpopular figure he was when running for office; by withdrawing from the race, Biden has increased his standing and respect.
However, Harris won’t want to overplay that Biden-Harris partnership. For the Harris team, this election message is: look to the future, new team, new energy, new vigor. So a little of Biden will go a long way.”
Michael Frazer, a political lecturer at the University of Glasgow, told Newsweek, “A joint appearance by Biden and Harris together will just remind these voters how grateful they are that Biden dropped out of the race voluntarily.”
Patrick Semansky
“Appearing with President Biden in their first joint campaign appearance will probably not affect VP Harris’s poll numbers,” Frazer continued. “Harris is already identified in voters’ minds with both the strengths and weaknesses of the Biden administration. Before he dropped out of the race, voters were widely concerned about Biden’s declining cognitive and physical capacities, but the policies of the Biden-Harris administration were always popular among roughly half of the electorate.
“These Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are now confident that [a potential] President Harris would carry out similar policies without the risks posed by Biden’s age and health.”
Newsweek contacted the Harris campaign via email for comment.
Harris will visit North Carolina on Friday to promote her economic plans to control inflation and lower living costs for the middle class.
The joint Biden-Harris visit comes ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which takes place in Chicago next week from August 19-22.
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