Harris assumes spotlight on Biden administration’s foreign policy

 

Vice President Kamala Harris alongside Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House compound, on Thursday, September 26. 

Tom Brenner/Getty Images

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House one year ago to plead for more weapons and shore up deteriorating support for his war, it was President Joe Biden who appeared alongside Zelensky in the East Room of the White House to pledge his unwavering support. And it was Biden who occupied that same role when Zelensky returned three months later as a critical aid packaged stalled in Congress.

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris — the newly minted standard-bearer for the Democratic Party — stepped into that spotlight as the chief messenger for the Biden administration’s foreign policy.

Standing side-by-side with Zelensky against a stately backdrop of Ukrainian and American flags, Harris offered a staunch defense of Ukraine.

“We must stand with our allies and our partners. We must defend our democratic values and stand up to aggressors, and we must stand for international rules and norms,” Harris said after the meeting in her ceremonial office.

Harris similarly embraced the stagecraft of the office, with Biden’s permission, following the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just days after Biden exited the race.

“You’ll see her stepping out more” in these moments, a Harris adviser told CNN, noting that Biden is “bringing her to the table more” for critical engagements than before. While the result may be more favorable optics for voters, another goal is to reinforce her personal relationships with world leaders to engender continuity in US policy if she wins.

While Harris has been putting her own stamp on economic and domestic policies, the adviser said “there will be no daylight” between Harris and Biden on foreign policy as she seeks to project stability.

But a senior administration official said Harris is becoming more deeply involved in the policies the Biden administration is pursuing outside its borders, asking probing questions and making her voice be heard.

“There are decisions [Biden] used to make that now she should weigh in on,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss private deliberations. “We have one president, but they have equal importance right now.”