Reportedly, being out of the limelight is hard for the US president
According to NBC News, US President Joe Biden has expressed private displeasure over the lack of recognition for his contributions. Sources claim that Biden is upset by the national media’s shift in focus to Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.
Since Biden ended his campaign following a challenging June debate with Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump, the report suggests that Harris has distanced herself from the US president.
Biden was reportedly particularly bothered by a comment made by Harris during her debate with Trump last month. When Trump attempted to equate her policies with those of Biden, Harris responded by saying: “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
This statement, repeated by Harris on other occasions, including a media interview, was in response to Trump’s attempts to draw a policy parallel between Harris and the president.
“There wasn’t a real interest in hearing about his [Biden’s] accomplishments when he was running. That’s still the case,” a Harris campaign official told NBC News.
Another source indicated that the president “understands completely the general lack of mentioning ‘Bidenomics’ and ‘Joe Biden’” in the political sphere. Despite his desire for Harris’s victory and his willingness to provide support, the report suggests that Biden remains frustrated by what he perceives as being left behind.
Prior to his decision to withdraw from the race, the Biden campaign faced challenges in downplaying moments of apparent frailty and confusion in public, which many voters saw as signs of decline in the 81-year-old politician. The Republican party used clips of these moments to attack the then-Democratic nominee, but officials dismissed them as “cheap fakes.”
Trump, at 78, has also experienced mental lapses on the campaign trail, but was generally viewed as more energetic and coherent than Biden during their June debate.
Despite this, during an appearance on ‘The View’ program last week, Biden insisted that he could have won the race. He asserted that “the fact of the matter is my polling was about what – you know – always within the range of beating this guy” before reflecting on his advanced age.