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If you haven’t heard the rumblings, there is apparently quite a bit of tension between our commander in chief, Joe Biden, and his Vice President Kamala Harris. In fact, rumor has it that due to that tension and their seemingly irreparable relationship, Biden is in the process of figuring out how to oust Harris from her current seat and possibly move her somewhere else, such as the Supreme Court.
To be clear, this is all pretty much just hearsay at this point, as the White House has been rather mum on the whole situation for obvious reasons.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t doing much to quell those ramblings either – or at least Biden isn’t, as evidenced by a recent move made at a very public event this past week.
As you may have heard, former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole passed away on Sunday. A memorial service was held on Thursday at the United States Capitol to honor the lifelong politician and public servant. And as you can imagine, both President Biden and his second in command, as well as their spouses, were in attendance.
But upon arriving at the event, the supposedly dynamic duo made it awkwardly obvious that they wanted nothing to do with the other.
According to CNN, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, arrived before the First Couple, eventually making their way to their assigned seats. Shortly afterward, Joe and Jill Biden did the same. The problem seemed to arise when they noticed their seats were right next to one another.
As Biden walked past Harris, he didn’t turn to exchange pleasantries or say hello. Hell, he didn’t even turn to look at her at all. In fact, it appeared that he was making every effort to avoid all contact with her. Biden went ahead and sat down next to Harris but made sure not to even look in her direction. Similarly, Harris appeared to find something very interesting straight ahead of her and so also never turned to look at her boss.
After a few moments of awkward silence and staring off in the distance, Biden turned and spoke to his wife. Then, just as the camera begins to widen its view, we can see that Biden and the first lady actually switch seats, with Jill Biden now sitting next to Harris instead of Joe.
As I said, it’s all rather awkward, right?
I mean, of all the President/Veep duos in recent decades, this one was supposed to be the most equally balanced, the most like an actual partnership. Or at least that’s what the White House projected when the pair first arrived.
Remember when both Biden and Harris gushed about how Harris would be included in just about everything the president did, including the daily presidential briefings and even the most trivial press conferences and public events?
To be sure, that was true for the first few months. But now, well, as you can see, the pair can’t even sit next to one another for a memorial service without the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
Now, for those of you who tend to be a bit more optimistic than I, you might say that the switch in seating arrangements had nothing to do with any rumored problems in America’s leadership. Perhaps, it was Biden’s wife who wanted to switch… who knows.
However, with all the rumors swirling around the supposed infighting within the party and the White House, the Bidens had to know this wouldn’t be a good look for either the president or his vice president.
I mean, you’d think at this point, the idea would be to contain any such rumors of dissension and try to paint a picture of a united front, working together with common goals and equal focus. And it seems Harris is at least trying to do that.
In a recent one-on-one interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, a known Democrat, Harris spoke of her and the president’s supposedly strained relationship, saying that “We’re getting things done, and we’re doing it together.” She added that while reports have said she isn’t being used to her potential by Biden, she doesn’t feel “underused.”
However, she didn’t exactly deny that there was some tension.
And, clearly, Biden’s isn’t either…
