As Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has surged into statistical ties in national polling, there are growing cracks between President Joe Biden's White House allies and those running Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign.
Under a pressure campaign after the June debate, Biden dropped his presidential campaign. Biden went on to endorse Harris, but there is reportedly some growing discontent between the factions, Axios reported, citing 10 people close to the situation.
"They're too much in their feelings," a Harris ally told Axios, an observation shared by White House aides.
Trump has been pointing to it, too, saying in the lone debate last month that "Biden hates her" and reiterating it to Newsmax's Chris Salcedo in an exclusive 26-minute sit-down Saturday.
"Biden's incompetent, and the only advantage is that I believe he hates her more than he hates me, and he hates me a lot," Trump told Salcedo.
Among the allegations put forth by Axios sources is that the White House is not coordinating Biden's messaging or schedule with Harris' campaign, evidenced by a Biden briefing room media availability that was seen as stepping on a Harris campaign event in the key battleground state of Michigan.
Also, Biden has publicly praised Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis as "gracious" and "cooperative" in the hurricane responses as Harris was criticizing DeSantis for not taking her calls to help coordinate the federal response that has been panned by Republicans and even some media.
"The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign," a source told Axios.
Harris' campaign has also become frustrated with the White House's helping add detail to the vice president's office staff, according to the report.
"Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated a number of staff would want to transition from the administration to the campaign for the final stretch," the White House told Axios, responding to the allegations of rifts.
Before being pressured to exit the race after the June debate, Biden's campaign had said Harris was less electable against Trump.
"At the end of the day, we'd switch to candidates who would, according to polls, be less likely to win than Joe Biden — the only person ever to defeat Donald Trump," deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty wrote, citing polling data.
With Trump now closing the race to a statistical tie in myriad recent polls, the White House is forced to answer for its onetime contention Biden was the best fit to beat Trump.
"President Biden endorsed Vice President Harris immediately after leaving the race, rejecting other approaches that would divide the party, and has attested to her leadership abilities and continually made clear his support for her," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios.
"While ensuring that all critical White House functions are fully staffed, we have made significant changes to guarantee the vice president's team has all of the support and resources that they need."
Harris' vice presidential office and campaign declined to respond to Axios' requests for comment on the reported divisions.