NASHVILLE — Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, named three past U.S. presidents she considers most effective — Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama — leaving out Joe Biden, under whom she has served as vice president.
Harris made the remarks Friday at a National Urban League conference in Nashville, where organization president Marc Morial asked her to name the three most effective American presidents in history.
The omission was deliberate in its effect: Harris has spent four years as Biden's vice president, and declining to include him signals a move to define her own political identity heading into November.
Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression and World War II, expanding federal programs. Kennedy focused his presidency on civil rights and space exploration before his assassination in 1963. Obama oversaw the economic recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and signed the Affordable Care Act into law.
Before joining the ticket, Harris served as a U.S. senator from California and as the state's attorney general.
The National Urban League, which hosted the event, is a civil rights organization that advocates for economic empowerment and social justice for African Americans. Its conferences draw major political figures seeking to engage Black voters, a core Democratic constituency.
