(DailyChive.com) – Joe and Jill Biden made headlines this week, but not for anything particularly presidential. At a Kennedy Center event, as they entered to a standing ovation, the First Couple pointedly ignored Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. The awkward exchange—or lack of one—was caught on camera, and it’s worth watching.
Here’s the scene: Kamala and Doug stood, turned toward the Bidens, clapped enthusiastically, and waited. A smile, a wave, a nod—anything would have sufficed. But Joe and Jill Biden seemed determined to look anywhere but at the vice president or her husband. Jill, in particular, executed a quick pivot that practically screamed avoidance, as if Kamala had suddenly become contagious.
If this wasn’t intentional, it certainly came across that way. For nearly a full minute, Joe and Jill acknowledged everyone else in the room. They waved, nodded, and smiled at other attendees, but Kamala and Doug might as well have been invisible. Even when Doug offered a polite nod, Joe ignored it, waving instead at someone behind them. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife—or perhaps enjoy it as your next screensaver.
What makes this snub even more striking is its timing. Earlier that day, Jill Biden was photographed with former President Donald Trump at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The two looked surprisingly cordial, highlighting just how frosty things are between the Bidens and Harris.
Why the bad blood? Harris’s rise to the vice presidency wasn’t exactly smooth. Critics have long seen her as unqualified, a diversity hire chosen more for optics than merit. To make matters worse, Harris launched a presidential bid of her own, a move Biden likely sees as betrayal. For a man who views his legacy as the one who defeated Donald Trump, Harris’s failed campaign feels like a personal affront. In his eyes, her loss helped pave the way for Trump’s return, undoing Biden’s achievements and branding his presidency as a failure.
It’s no wonder Joe and Jill might harbor resentment. Kamala aimed for the top job, but she missed—and now she faces the fallout. All that’s left are the political blame games and the unmistakable chill between former allies.
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