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Breaking With Biden
During her campaign, former President Biden demanded that VP Kamala Harris allow no daylight between them. Did it cost her the election?
As we approach the six-month anniversary of the Democratic Party’s bitter electoral defeat by Donald Trump, progressives are beginning to admit an important truth: It was (at least partially) President Joe Biden’s fault.
Pretending that Biden’s presidency was the transformative, LBJesque success story Democratic Party spin doctors promised would be pointless. Voters didn’t buy it in 2024. They won’t buy a warmed-over version in 2026. Pretending that Biden was defeated by a cruel set of global and historical forces beyond his control would be a disservice to the Democratic Party’s campaign chances in the coming election years.
Preventing Vice President Kamala Harris from breaking with Biden’s record during the 2024 campaign may have cost Democrats the election, according to some progressives. Vice President Kamala Harris was hamstringed, some argue, from the beginning by enforced fealty to President Joe Biden.
“How ‘no daylight’ from Biden crippled the Harris presidential campaign,” Amie Parnes reported for The Hill on March 13, 2025.
“Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both understood the importance of being seen as the bigger change agent,” began Parnes. “For Trump, that…