President Joe Biden paused during a speech to apologize to Vice President Kamala Harris for saying “I” instead of “we” when speaking about administration priorities.
President Biden delivered a speech Monday on his executive order to strengthen American manufacturing, after which he took several questions from reporters. In a small but telling moment, Biden interrupted himself as he explained how he would try to build support in Congress for the administration’s policies.
“It’s not enough for me just to come up to you and say, ‘I like this. I expect you to support it’,” Biden said. “I want to explain to you why I think it’s so important in this package that we have to provide for money for additional vaccines, why I think it’s so important why we provide for money to extend unemployment benefits, why I think it’s so important that we provide money to provide for the ability of people not to be thrown out of their apartments during this pandemic because they can’t afford their rent, and to make the case to you why I think and what I think the priorities within this piece…”
Biden paused, said “that we think the priorities are,” then turned back toward VP Harris and said, “I apologize,” and continued, “were within this legislation.”
That small moment said volumes about the respect and affection with which Biden views his history-making veep, as well as of the view of the vice presidency-as-partnership that he and President Barack Obama developed over their two terms in office.
Another recent reminder of the shift to a partnership model in the Biden/Harris White House. The official White House schedule for Tuesday read “THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the President’s Daily Brief,” an event that last appeared on the White House schedule on January 18, 2017.