Book shows alleged Biden-Harris divide surfaced earlier than previous president-VP rifts, some critics say
Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff reportedly complained about Harris' assignments
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rifts between presidents and their vice presidents are not unusual, but a new book about the Biden presidency shows that an apparent divide between Joe Biden and Kamala surfaced much earlier than in previous administrations, Jesse Watters argued on "The Five" Wednesday.
In a new book by author Chris Whipple, Biden is characterized as personally finding his vice president, Kamala Harris, annoying and "a work in progress," while separately claiming Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff had complained about his wife's policy portfolio, which included the southern border crisis.
According to Whipple's book, Biden was annoyed because he hadn't asked Harris to do anything he personally hadn't done as President Obama's deputy, while she separately begged him to add voting rights to her portfolio.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN CALLED HARRIS A ‘WORK IN PROGRESS’ AND WAS ‘ANNOYED’ WITH HUSBAND'S COMPLAINING: BOOK
U.S. Kamala Harris embraces U.S. President Joe Biden before his remarks at a menorah lighting (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Unlike the past administrations, Biden's and Harris' purported clash happened very early in their administration, Watters said.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore appeared to be friendly until Gore lost to George W. Bush in 2000 election. Gore believed the Monica Lewinsky scandal contributed to his loss.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And then [Vice President Dick] Cheney got a little perturbed at ‘W.’ about the Scooter Libby thing at the way end of that presidency," Watters said.
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a Dick Cheney adviser, was convicted in 2007 of perjury and obstruction of justice in the investigation of the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. Cheney had wanted George W. Bush to pardon Libby, but the president refused, opting to commute his sentence instead. Cheney reportedly never forgave Bush. President Trump later ultimately pardoned Libby years later.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"And then, Biden kind of sulked when Barack Obama endorsed Hillary, but that didn't even really come out until way later," Watters added. "And then we all know what happened with Pence and Trump."
Watters said that not only Biden, but anyone in his position should've expected more from Harris as a vice president. "Five" co-host Greg Gutfeld added Harris appears to be a "blueprint example of a terrible hire made for noble but naive reasons."
"She's no different than Sam Brinton, right? The luggage thief-nuclear scientist, or [Sam] Bankman-Fried – you know, the fraudster – because their gross incompetence was cloaked or shielded by wokeness," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gutfeld remarked Harris went as far as to suggest Biden was a racist during a presidential debate – and yet he still chose her as his vice president.
"So that's what you end up with. You had somebody that ticked all the boxes except ‘qualifications’ -- and if you questioned, God forbid, you questioned your qualifications, you'd be run over by the steamroller of bigoted accusations."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.