Jill Biden And Kamala Harris' Rumored Feud Explained

While Kamala Harris served as vice president throughout Joe Biden's term in office, the pair appeared to have a cordial and supportive working relationship and even a close friendship. However, the same reportedly could not be said for Jill Biden, who has reportedly been butting heads with Harris ever since one particularly aggressive debate performance between Joe and Harris during their run for the Democratic nomination back in 2019. Ever since then, and all throughout Joe's presidency, rumors have swirled that there's quite a bit of bad blood between the powerful women. For instance, netizens thought things looked tense between Jill and Harris when they attended Jimmy Carter's funeral.

How much of the speculation has merit and how much is just gossip? That's a difficult question, considering neither Jill nor Harris have addressed the rumors directly. However, inside sources told the Wall Street Journal that in addition to Jill's negative feelings on Harris, the relationship Harris and Doug Emoff (her husband) have with the Bidens hasn't been all that friendly since the 2024 election. Here is a full breakdown of the history of the supposed rift between Jill and Harris, the reasons the rumors have persisted, and where they seem to stand now that a new administration has taken over.

Rumors of a possible rift between Jill Biden and Kamala Harris have been raging even before Joe Biden first took office in 2021 and Harris was sworn in as his vice president. When Harris and Joe were both vying to be the Democratic nominee for president back in 2019, the pair faced off with several other potential nominees in a debate to try to win Democratic voters. At the time, Harris didn't hold back when it came to taking swipes at Joe's voting record back in the 1970s. Harris hammered at Joe for a story he told about being able to work with pro-segregation senators even though they disagreed on many issues. She also mentioned his previous opposition to federally mandated busing initiatives, which helped integrate schools.

Harris made sure to say she wasn't trying to suggest that she felt Joe was racist by bringing those things up. It was an aggressive performance from the then-senator of California, but it wasn't enough to keep Joe from getting the Democratic nomination. However, Jill wasn't pleased with the way things went down, and she told Chris Cuomo on CNN that Harris' attack on Joe's character was "the biggest surprise" she's felt throughout that election cycle. "The American people know Joe Biden. They know his values. They know what he stands for. And they didn't buy it," Jill added.

After Joe Biden's disappointing performance in his debate against Donald Trump in June 2024, the president began to feel the pressure from his own party to exit the race, and for a new candidate to take over in the run against Trump. On July 21, Joe bowed out and subsequently endorsed Kamala Harris as the new Democratic candidate, which was later made official at the Democratic National Convention. While the news was met with a great deal of party support, Jill Biden reportedly felt Joe had been betrayed by his allies.

An unnamed source told the Daily Mail in December 2024, after Harris' crushing election defeat, "Jill views Democrats on Capitol Hill, the [wider] party, the Obamas, staff inside and outside the White House, the media, and all of Washington DC with such misguided resentment that I can't imagine she [isn't] encouraging [Joe] to burn the whole thing down, despite his better judgment." Things only got more awkward after then when Joe told USA Today that he felt he would have won against Trump had he stayed in the race.

While the pair have occasionally appeared jovial together in photographs or at public events, every time there has been any apparent lack of warmth between Jill Biden and Kamala Harris, it's been suggested that Jill had gone out of her way to ignore Harris. Their supposed tension seemed to increase after Harris' loss to Donald Trump, as evidenced by some official appearances.

One example came on Veterans' Day in 2024, when Harris was seated near Jill at an event at Arlington National Cemetery. Harris shook hands with everyone nearby except Jill, who looked on with indifference through dark shades, seemingly refusing to acknowledge Harris at all and sparking their feud rumors again. 

Jill and Joe Biden are refusing to even look at Kamala Harris tonight 😬 pic.twitter.com/qL6jftoLsu

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 9, 2024

Then, in December, Joe and Jill were welcomed at the Kennedy Center Honors to a loud round of applause — but the couple seemingly wouldn't glance at or address Harris or Doug Emhoff, who were seated across from them in the same box. While it's possible there are other reasons for Jill appearing to give Harris the silent treatment, there's no denying it added fuel to the fire of speculation.

Setting aside any potential unpleasantness, Jill Biden and Kamala Harris had a sweet interaction during Joe Biden's final presidential address from the Oval Office in January 2025. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, watched Joe's speech from against the far wall. Jill sat on the former vice president's other side, and the women smiled warmly with one another and held hands during Joe's address. It was a nice moment signifying unity amid Joe's final days as president.

With the Bidens now essentially out of politics and Harris trying to plan her next moves after her painful loss, it's unlikely people will get any conclusive answers from Harris and Jill regarding their speculated feud. However, while rumors of a rift have been widespread, former White House spokesperson Andrew Bates claimed that there never was any tension to begin with — something backed by Harris' spokesperson, Kirsten Allen, who stressed to the Wall Street Journal that Harris and Joe are friends as well as colleagues, and that Jill and Emhoff are part of that too.