Jill Biden And Kamala Harris Have Been Butting Heads Longer Than Anyone Realized

Over the past several years, Kamala Harris, as Vice President of the United States, and Jill Biden, as the First Lady, have played important roles in President Joe Biden's administration. Harris has broken barriers as the first woman and person of color to serve as Vice President, while Jill has been a strong advocate for education and military families. But despite their common ground, signs of tension between the two have become apparent.

Proof of their butting heads goes back to 2019, when Joe and Harris were both vying for the Democratic nomination. During the June debate that year, Harris criticized Biden's comments from a private fundraiser, where he praised senate "civility" while working with segregationists. She also condemned his early opposition to federally mandated bussing. In a July 2019 interview with CNN, Jill defended her husband, saying she was surprised by Harris' remarks.

"I think that they were looking at the past," Jill claimed. "I mean, the one thing you cannot say about Joe is that he's a racist. I mean, he got into politics because of his commitment to civil rights." Jill also pointed out that Joe was elected as Vice President under Barack Obama, the first African American president in U.S. history. "The American people know Joe Biden," Jill continued. "They know his values. They know what he stands for. And they didn't buy it."

Rumored tensions between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden have been swirling for years, dating back to the 2020 election. Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination for president, overcoming a group of challengers that included Harris, who had been critical of him. The decision to name Harris as Joe's running mate was met with surprise by Jill, who reportedly said "There are millions of people in the United States. Why ... do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?" (via The Guardian).

The most recent example of possible problems between Jill and Harris took place at President Jimmy Carter's funeral on January 9, 2025. CNN's Jake Tapper noted during the network's coverage of the service that Jill and Harris didn't exactly cozy up to each other. According to the New York Post, the two barely said anything, and though they sat together, they didn't acknowledge each other.

But any rumored distance between Jill and Harris was put on hold during President Biden's farewell address to the nation on January 15, 2024. The two women held hands as the president spoke, just five days before president-elect Donald Trump was due to take the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States.