GOP strategist Karl Rove predicted that it would be “highly unlikely” for President Biden to make many campaign appearances for Vice President Harris.
Biden joined Harris in Pittsburgh, Pa., to rally with union workers on Labor Day, which marked their first joint appearance on the campaign trail since Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket. Rove said Tuesday on Fox News that he does not think Biden will be a frequent surrogate on the trail for the Harris campaign.
“If I were the Harris campaign, I'd say we got to get him out there so that his feelings are not hurt. He can help us, maybe in Pennsylvania, because that's where he grew up. But let's get it done and get it out of the way so we can say we've done it,” he said.
“I think they wanted to get it done on Labor Day, give the president a chance to be on the campaign trail. I think it is highly unlikely that we're going to see much of him, if any, future appearances on the campaign trail,” he added.
Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president last month, just weeks after Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her for the White House. Biden’s decision to drop out of the race came after numerous Democrats called on him to step aside following a shaky debate performance in June.
During Monday’s campaign stop, Biden was met with chants of “Thank you, Joe.” He also promised that Harris could “make “Donald Trump a loser again.”
Biden also spoke during the first night of the Democratic National Convention last month, where he passed the torch to Harris. He said choosing Harris as his running mate was “the best decision I made my whole career."
In the first months of her campaign, Harris has closed the gap with former President Trump across many national and swing state polls. According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s polling average, she has a 4-point lead over Trump based on an aggregate of 155 polls.
