Kamala Harris says she has never discussed with Joe Biden whether he will seek re-election

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Kamala Harris insists that she hasn't yet spoken to President Joe Biden about whether or not he intends to run for re-election in 2024.

The Vice President is almost a year into the role, but amid reports of Democratic concern over President Biden’s suitability to run again, given he is currently 79, she claims that no conversations have taken place over the matter.

Ms Harris has long been regarded as a future leader of the party, having previously contested the 2016 Democratic primary in 2016.

While that attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, she does remain a strong contender to become the first female President of the United States – if Mr Biden name doesn't appear on the ticket in three years’ time.

“I’m not going to talk about our conversations, but I will tell you this without any ambiguity: We do not talk about nor have we talked about re-election, because we haven’t completed our first year and we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” Ms Harris told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

She said of their priorities, “We’re building back up our economy, and we are re-establishing America’s role in the context of our allies and partners around the world.”

When pressed on whether the current president would run again, she replied: “I’ll be very honest: I don’t think about it, nor have we talked about it.”

Ordinarily, the notion of a sitting president seeking a second term in the Oval Office wouldn't be subject to such scrutiny.

And yet, with Mr Biden turning 80 next year, there are serious doubts as to whether he will seek another four years as Commander-in-Chief.

Far from being just another conservative conspiracy theory, reports indicate that many within Mr Biden’s own party are privately expressing reservations over his ability to win the election for a second time.

In such a climate, one might expect that the sitting VP would be next in line to succeed Mr Biden, should he opt against running in November 2024. However, one key sticking point for the 57-year-old in this regard is her poor polling numbers, which very much mirror that of the current president.

Both Mr Biden and Ms Harris are ending 2021 with poor poll numbers. A recent Economist/YouGov survey found that just 39% of respondents saw Ms Harris favourably, while 51% had an unfavourable view of her.

Additionally, a WSJ poll found that 41% of voters approved of Mr Biden’s job performance thus far, following a tough first year.