Biden insiders say president is feeling ‘left behind’ – and was hurt by Harris distancing herself from him in debate

President Joe Biden has reportedly complained to his closest allies that he feels “left behind” as his fellow Democrats rush to embrace their new presidential nominee Kamala Harris and support her in the fight against Donald Trump.

Biden, 81, made the historic decision to step aside from the 2024 in July following intense pressure from his own party in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.

The president moved quickly to endorse the vice president, who went on to pick up the nomination unchallenged, her dramatic ascent reinvigorating a race many were previously unenthused by.

Harris and running mate Tim Walz have since come out swinging against Trump and his running mate JD Vance and the national conversation has moved on, all of which has left Biden feeling forgotten by a party he has served for more than five decades, insiders told NBC News.

Based on conversations with 12 administration insiders, the outlet reported that Biden feels his accomplishments in the White House are now being overlooked, leaving him with “very complex” feelings about how the events of the summer have played out.

Biden is said to have noted that Harris no longer mentions his name in her campaign speeches – having initially made a point of thanking him for his political service, often drawing chants of gratitude – seemingly in the interest of creating distance with him and the policies of his administration.

Speaking for Harris, a campaign official said: “We have to tell people who she is and what she would do.

“There wasn’t a real interest in hearing about [Biden’s] accomplishments when he was running. That’s still the case.”

While the president “understands completely” the political calculations Harris is making and unambiguously wants to see her beat Trump in November, according to his aides, he was nevertheless “particularly stung” by one line during her debate against Trump.

“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden. And I am certainly not Donald Trump,” she said. “And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”

Responding to the story, White House spokesman Andrew Bates dismissed the “uninformed claims” about the commander-in-chief as “the polar opposite of the truth”.

He added: “President Biden welcomes the strong response the American people are having to Vice President Harris’s leadership and to policies that move us into the future, away from dangerous agendas from the past like MAGA-nomics and abortion bans.”

A person familiar with Harris’s own thinking cited by NBC said: “She loves the president. She adores the president. She’s proud of the record that they have. But I think the difficult part for a lot of people is that this will be the Harris administration. It won’t be Biden Part Two.”

In recent public displays of unity, Biden and Harris appeared together at a Labor Day rally and again at the Congressional Black Caucus’ Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, DC, on September 14.

They have since worked together in organizing the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which has devastated the southeast states in recent days and left at least 133 people dead.