WASHINGTON, Dec 17 — US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is widely seen as having hit a political rough patch, said she and Joe Biden have not discussed the 2024 election or whether the president will run for a second term.

Washington has been buzzing with rumours about the relationship between Harris and Biden, with many commentators speculating that Harris may not be in the running for the White House if Biden chooses not to stand again.

"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,” Harris told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday.

When asked about the possibility of Biden, 79, running for office again, Harris said: "I don’t think about it, nor have we talked about it.”

History-making Harris — the first woman and first Black and Asian American person ever sworn in as vice president — initially seemed to be the heir apparent.

But her halo has slipped amid negative press alleging dysfunction among her staff, doubt on her standing within the administration and her frustrations over thorny assignments, such as minority voting access and the migration crisis at the southern border. — AFP