Kamala Harris Snubs Biden When Naming America’s Most Effective Presidents

Former Vice President Kamala Harris conspicuously left Joe Biden off her list of America’s most effective presidents during an appearance at the National Urban League Conference in Nashville, despite spending four years serving as his vice president.

Harris was asked by National Urban League President Marc Morial to name the presidents she considered the most effective in American history. She began with Franklin D. Roosevelt, praising his expansion of the federal government’s role during the Great Depression and programs such as Social Security.

She then pointed to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, highlighting their roles in advancing the civil rights movement. Harris credited Kennedy with helping set the stage for major reforms and Johnson with turning that momentum into landmark legislation.

Harris also included Barack Obama, specifically praising the Affordable Care Act as a major accomplishment of his presidency. But Biden, the president who selected Harris as his running mate in 2020 and put her one heartbeat away from the presidency, never made her list.

The omission comes amid signs of lingering tension between the former running mates following Democrats‘ defeat in the 2024 presidential election. Harris has previously complained that Biden’s White House failed to adequately defend her from Republican criticism, particularly over her role in the administration’s handling of the southern border.

Harris has increasingly sought to establish her own political identity as speculation grows about another presidential campaign in 2028. During the same Nashville appearance, she floated several major changes to the country’s political system, including expanding the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices and reconsidering the Electoral College.

She has not formally announced another White House campaign, but Harris continues to appear near the top of early Democratic polling. Her decision to praise four Democratic presidents while saying nothing about Biden is likely to add to questions about their relationship and how much distance she intends to put between herself and the deeply unpopular administration she once served.