Harris cites JFK, Obama among ‘most effective’ presidents, omitting Biden

In The Know Harris cites JFK, Obama among ‘most effective’ presidents, omitting Biden Comments: by Mira Bhakta - 08/01/26 12:17 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Mira Bhakta - 08/01/26 12:17 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris listed at the National Urban League Conference who she thought were the “most effective presidents in American history,” and left out former President Joe Biden despite her tenure as his second-in-command.

Harris was asked by National Urban League President Marc Morial to “rank the top 3 most effective American presidents in history.”

She named Franklin Delano Roosevelt for “investing in people during dire times,” and then listed John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson for their individual work.

“I credit Kennedy, of course, in terms of what he laid the groundwork for,” Harris continued. “And then Johnson followed up on.”

Harris concluded with former President Barack Obama for “what he did with the Affordable Care Act and many things.”

“If we had one issue that’s been ailing America for generations, which is a healthcare system that has failed anyone other than the rich,” she stated.

Harris’s list notably left out Biden, who she ran with in the 2020 presidential election and under whom she served. In her book “107 Days,” published in 2025, she said that former President Biden’s decision to run for reelection last year amounted to “recklessness.”

“I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run. He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don’t let the other guy win,” Harris wrote.

“But at 81, Joe got tired,” she continued in the memoir. “That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles.”

In 2024, Biden announced his second presidential bid, but he faced increased pressure from many in the Democratic party to drop out following his performance in a debate against President Trump.

When Biden did drop out, he put his support behind Harris who had 107 days to campaign before Election Day.

Harris was also critical of Biden’s decision to run during an appearance on MS NOW’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” adding that she had a “certain responsibility” to push back on Biden’s reelection bid in 2024.