On the last day of August, President Joe Biden was asked about his fall campaign plans. He promised a Labor Day appearance in Pittsburgh and said he would be “on the road from there on.” Biden did campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris on Labor Day, but he largely has been a campaign no-show since. Beyond that, sometimes his official events push hers to the background. Case in point: After Hurricane Helene, Harris scrapped campaign events in Las Vegas to hurry back to Washington for a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But as Harris stepped to a podium in the command center, Biden was delivering his own storm response comments from the Oval Office, pulling the political spotlight away from his intended successor. The lack of presidential campaigning and occasional schedule clashes could matter not just for Harris but as Democrats try to hold control of the Senate and retake the House and compete in races further down the ballot. Even former President Barack Obama announced he will campaign for Harris. Obama will appear in Pittsburgh on Thursday and plans to spend the remaining time before the Nov. 5 election traveling to battleground states. He also recorded ads promoting Democratic Senate candidates in Michigan, Maryland and Florida. It can be tricky juggling being president and campaigning for someone new It is not uncommon for a lame-duck president to struggle with finding the right balance between fulfilling the job and carving out a role in a would-be successor’s campaign. Biden’s situation is unusual because he was seeking a second term until his dramatic departure from the race left Harris with a condensed time frame for her own run. “I think he’s doing his job as president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “I think that’s the most important thing.” Hurricane Helene has complicated matters in the short term. Biden canceled a campaign stop in Pennsylvania this past week and he and Harris made separate trips Wednesday to the Carolinas and Georgia, respectively, to survey the damage and offer support. That time, their remarks did not overlap. But on Friday, while Harris was speaking about the importance of unions outside Detroit, Biden caused a stir by making a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. It was the first of his presidency. Biden has taken official trips to battleground states and he will be in suburban Philadelphia on Tuesday to campaign for Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. The Harris team had no comment on its hopes for Biden’s campaign role. The president was born in Pennsylvania and maintains a strong connection to its union leaders and blue-collar voters, and former Democratic National Committee chief Donna Brazile said she would “put him on a bus” to campaign there. “I would make sure he is out there in the closing weeks and days of the campaign,” Brazile said. “He connects with people she will need.” Biden and Harris have appeared together at several other official events, including a recent one at the White House on combating gun violence, and at a health care-related event in August where Biden said, “We cannot let Kamala lose.” Both have been in the Situation Room frequently to discuss the growing conflict in the Middle East. The lone joint campaign event by Biden and Harris […]