Harris heads to Pittsburgh for 1st joint campaign appearance with Biden

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris plans to use her joint campaign appearance with President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday to advocate for U.S. Steel to remain under domestic ownership. This aligns with the White House's earlier stance against the company’s potential sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Harris is expected to emphasize that U.S. Steel should continue to be "domestically owned and operated" and to reaffirm her commitment to supporting American steel workers, according to her campaign.

This mirrors President Biden's position, expressed in March, opposing the sale to Nippon in order to "maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers." However, this marks a significant policy stance for Harris, who has made relatively few such declarations since Biden stepped aside from his reelection bid and endorsed her in July.

In her campaign, Harris has balanced presenting herself as a forward-looking candidate while remaining loyal to Biden's policies. Her approach differs in style—sometimes advocating for faster action than the Biden administration—but her overall goals, such as expanding government support for the middle class, align closely with Biden’s.

Biden and Harris will both attend Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade, marking their first joint campaign event since the surprising shakeup in the 2024 election that reinvigorated Democratic enthusiasm. Harris' team reports a surge in voter engagement in Pennsylvania since she took the lead on the ticket, with tens of thousands of new volunteers ready to canvass.

Their appearance in Pittsburgh is part of a broader campaign push in battleground states with just over two months until Election Day. Before meeting Biden in Pennsylvania, Harris will also campaign in Detroit on Monday.

At 59, Harris is positioning herself as a candidate who seeks to move beyond divisive politics, distancing herself from the harsh rhetoric of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, while also signaling a shift from the Biden era. Her events are notably different from Biden’s, often featuring larger crowds, yet her agenda remains focused on issues Biden championed, such as capping prescription drug costs, defending the Affordable Care Act, and now, her stance on U.S. Steel.

“We fight for a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy, so that every American has the opportunity to own a home, start a business, and build wealth and intergenerational wealth,” Harris said at a recent rally, echoing Biden’s economic vision of growth “from the bottom out and the middle up.”

Harris has also promised to lower grocery costs to combat inflation and has moved more quickly than Biden on certain issues, such as proposing tax incentives to encourage home ownership and ending federal taxes on tips for service workers. However, she has offered few new major policy specifics, continuing to align with Biden on key issues.

The vice president briefly appeared on stage with Biden after he delivered his remarks at last month’s Democratic National Convention, but the two haven’t shared a political stage since Biden's campaign against Trump. Back then, Harris was primarily the campaign’s spokesperson on abortion rights, an issue they believe is critical to their success in November, especially as restrictions grow and women’s healthcare deteriorates following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Harris has continued to stand by Biden even as she assumes leadership of the Democratic Party. In her first interview since launching her candidacy, she passionately defended Biden’s record and capabilities, despite recent events that have left Biden as a lame duck and Harris as the party’s standard-bearer.

Biden, now 81, stepped aside in July after a poor debate performance with Trump and mounting pressure within his party to make way for new leadership.

“I have spent hours upon hours with him, be it in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” Harris said in a recent interview, contrasting Biden's qualities with those of Trump. “The former president has none of that.”

During the CNN interview, Harris described serving with Biden as "one of the greatest honors of my career" and said she didn’t need to ask for his endorsement because “he was very clear that he was going to endorse me.”

Harris has also defended the administration’s handling of the southern border and immigration, an area that has been particularly challenging. She notes that she was tasked with addressing the "root causes" of migration in other countries, although Republicans have labeled her the "border czar."

In recent weeks, Harris has spoken more forcefully about the civilian suffering in Gaza, as Israel’s conflict with Hamas approaches its 11th month. Still, she continues to support Biden’s efforts to supply arms to Israel and negotiate a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Israel announced early Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages captured during Hamas’ October 7 attack, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. This news spurred mass demonstrations in Israel demanding a ceasefire.

Before their Pittsburgh appearance, Harris joined Biden on Monday in the Situation Room to meet with the U.S. hostage negotiation team, discussing ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages.