On Wednesday, Axios reported that Kamala Harris, the undemocratically anointed presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, is trying to “distance herself” from Bidenomics because of how unpopular it is with voters.
Harris won't say it this bluntly in public, but her advisers do so privately: She wants to break with Biden on issues on which he's unpopular," the outlet reported. "First up: rising prices. This is part of a highly choreographed effort to define herself — in some cases, redefine herself — as a different kind of Democrat."
The article went on to say that she "wants to be not-Biden on inflation — arguably the biggest domestic topic of this campaign — by proposing clearer, more urgent solutions."
The big picture: Harris doesn't want to be completely defined by the Biden-Harris record, advisers tell us. And she needs some distance: 80% of U.S. adults in Gallup polling say they're dissatisfied with the country's direction.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre flat out rejected this idea during Wednesday's White House Press Briefing.
"When did you guys learn that Vice President Harris wants to distance herself from Bidenomics?" Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked.
"Why do you think that?" Jean-Pierre asked.
Doocy cited the Axios report before asking "Can you blame her?"
"Do you know this is the Biden-Harris administration?" Jean-Pierre replied. "Are you aware that this is the Biden-Harris administration? And she is indeed the vice president."
DOOCY TIME: “When did you guys learn that Vice President Harris wants to distance herself from Bidenomics?”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 14, 2024
KJP: “Why do you think that?”
Doocy: “Axios is now reporting that she is 'hoping to distance herself from President Biden's unpopularity on the economy.' Can you blame… pic.twitter.com/j3R954IRkT
Ouch.
"But would you admit at least that if Bidenomics was more popular, President Biden would still be —"
"I'm not gonna get into polling," Jean-Pierre insisted. "What I will tell you is: Bidenomics has been something that both the president and the vice president have worked on. You guys call — you guys have called it Bidenomics. We talk about how the president is trying to put forward an economic policy, building the economy from the bottom up, middle out, that does not leave behind the middle class and make sure it has equity at the center of it."
She added, "MAGA-nomics, which is very different, which is something that neither of them believe in, wants to do the opposite of what we're trying to do on behalf of the American people. That's the difference."
Doocy: “But would you admit at least that, if Bidenomics was more popular, President Biden would still be the candidate?”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 14, 2024
KJP: “I'm not going to get into polling. What I will tell you is Bidenomics has been something that both the President and the Vice President has [sic]… pic.twitter.com/kq3wZENVLK
Related: Inflation Isn't Down
What we have here is Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, indisputably tying Kamala Harris to Bidenomics. That's the last thing that Kamala Harris wants for her campaign. KJP literally threw Kamala Harris under the Bidenomics bus.
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