Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly snubbing Sen. Elizabeth Warren even after the Massachusetts Democrat reached out to her twice to apologize for not giving her a rousing endorsement as President Biden’s 2024 running mate.
The impasse stems from an interview Warren gave to a Boston radio station in January in which she wholeheartedly backed Biden for a re-election bid but appeared less than enthusiastic when asked whether Harris should remain his No. 2, CNN reported on Sunday.
“I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team,” the senator said in the interview with Boston Public Radio.
One person close to the vice president summed up the feeling of many in Harris’ office by describing Warren’s comments as “pretty insulting,” the report said.
Warren called Harris in an attempt to resolve the situation and explain that her remark was a mistake — an ungraceful way to prevent stepping on a possible Biden announcement.
Warren released a statement after the interview to clear things up, stating that she “fully” supports the Biden/Harris ticket in 2024 and “never intended to imply otherwise.”
Warren reached out to Harris’ chief of staff Lorraine Voles, who called Warren back, CNN said.
But those in Harris’ camp see the slight as another in a long line against the vice president, who they say has never gotten the respect or political support she deserves.
The falling out between the two is also catching the attention of Democratic leaders as the 2024 presidential contest nears and Biden appears poised to announce a re-election bid, CNN reported.
The top Democrats have warned that unless people start to view the next person in the line of succession for the presidency in a more favorable light, they may just tune out the Biden-Harris ticket entirely.
They’re urging a reconciliation for Biden’s sake or for the future of the party.
“People who are denigrating her are aggrandizing themselves,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said of Harris’ critics.
A state Democratic Party chair expressed concerns about Harris’ poll numbers and the president’s re-election chances, saying “right now, she seems to be an albatross.”
“She’s either going to be a liability or a help. And you better embrace her because it’s not like she’s going to be off the ticket,” the person told CNN
“It’s gone from the negative, ‘We can’t have her be weak,’ to the positive, ‘She must be a force, and she’s demonstrated that she can be,’” another party operative said.