Jill Biden's grudge against Kamala Harris REVEALED: Power-hungry first lady's grudge is so deep that the only thing worse than Joe stepping down is the VP replacing him
When Kamala Harris took to the stage during a Democratic primary debate before the 2020 election and implied that Joe Biden was racist, his wife, Jill's, response was crystal clear.
'Go f**k yourself,' the then-future first lady vented, as she admitted during a conference call with supporters.
And the relationship between the two women – that began badly enough during that contentious battle for the presidential nomination – has only gone downhill from there.
Now, political insiders have told DailyMail.com that Democratic advisors are struggling to push past the powerful role that Jill Biden's loathing of Harris, 59, is playing in Joe's resistance to pass the mantle to his VP as pressure ratchets up for him to step down as presidential candidate and allow another Democrat to tackle Donald Trump.
According to one former Democrat operative in Jill's circle, the women's long-seated animosity is 'one hundred per cent' part of Jill's resistance to having her 81-year-old husband step aside.
Because the truth, according to a source who knows the First Couple well, is that Jill's is now the only voice to which the 46th president listens.
And as far as Jill, 73, is concerned, the only thing worse than her husband stepping down would be Kamala stepping up to replace him.
The relationship between the two women began badly enough during the contentious 2020 primary but has only gone downhill from there
Jill is the only voice that the embattled Commander-in-Chief will listen to
The bad blood between the First Lady and the Vice President, a feeling so strong that one source described it as, 'hatred,' dates to June 2019, when Kamala was running against Biden and condemned him during a televised debate for opposing aspects of mandatory busing for school desegregation.
'Jill holds grudges,' one Democrat insider revealed. 'She doesn't let things go and she has never forgiven Kamala for comments that some took to be allegations of racism.'
According to one insider, that was the reason she never wanted Kamala to be her husband's number two in the first place.
They said, 'Jill was trying to stop Kamala joining the Biden ticket in 2020. She has hated her ever since the school bus thing.
'But she bit her tongue because Biden boxed himself into a corner by saying he would pick a black woman for his running mate.'
But the real power behind the throne is now Jill, who wants to stay in the White House almost as much as she wants to keep Harris out of it.
Jill has become consumed by the power and prestige of the presidency and what that means to her.
In January 2022 the Marine Corps band performed an original composition entitled, 'Fanfare for the First Lady,' essentially Jill's personal 'Hail to the Chief.'
The tune is performed and repeated at official White House functions from her first appearance until she is ready to speak.
It is all a very long way from the Jill that a long-time associate recalled as a humble 'common' person who exercised at the YMCA in downtown Wilmington and could never be regarded as 'full of herself.'
According to one well-placed source the real power behind the throne is Jill who wants to stay in the White House almost as much as she wants to keep Kamala out of it
Jill has taken front and center stage during Biden's campaign for four more years
'Now it's not really about Joe. It's more about her holding on to her status as First Lady. She doesn't want to give that up.'
Jill is 'absolutely unwavering about Joe staying [in the race] but if he is forced out or opts out, she would be fully opposed to Kamala replacing him.'
One insider revealed, 'Kamala never runs competent organizations. Every office, every campaign, devolves into toxicity. And Jill is keenly protective of Joe's legacy.'
'For all the talk out there about this race, Joe has made it clear that he's all in.' Jill said.
'Joe isn't just the right person for the job. He's the only person for the job.'
And, while she didn't directly address the rumors that she was behind his decision, she did indirectly hint to it.
'That's the decision he's made and just as he has always supported my career, I am all in too.'
The Biden family has circled the wagons around the president.
Jill Biden and Hunter Biden are now acting as the president’s gatekeepers.
The president’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, is also standing by him. Owens ran Joe Biden’s first Senate campaign and has been involved in every one of his campaigns since. She is his top political adviser.
Jill, Hunter and Valerie are the three most important people in any decision Joe Biden makes about his future.
He listens to them the most. They would need to give their blessing for him to exit the presidential race.
They show no signs of doing so.
All the family urged Bien to stay in the race.
Jill Biden, in particular, points to all the family has had to endure during Joe Biden’s time in the White House.
She noted the prosecutor of Hunter Biden pointing out he could go to prison. The family saw Hunter’s prosecution on a 2018 gun purchase as too much over reach.
Jill Biden argued now was the time to fight.
She and her stepson Hunter — awaiting sentencing in October for his conviction for buying a gun while being a drug user — have been urging the President to sack staff who haven't been sufficiently upbeat about his election prospects.
There is another reason the Bidens are digging in their heels. The family, particularly Jill Biden, remembers how Joe Biden was forced out of the 1988 presidential race after a plagiarism scandal.
'In 1987, she saw him be forced out by the press, pundits and polls, and it was really a scarring experience for both of them,' Michael LaRosa, the first lady's former press secretary, told the New York Times.
He said had discussed the 1988 episode multiple times with the first lady when he worked for her.
'I think they learned from that experience and they weren't going to have their hands forced like they were in 1987.'
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Trump says it's too late to get a different candidate on the Democratic ticket and claims there's no way Biden voluntarily steps aside.
'He has all the power, he has the delegates,' Trump said, referencing the fact that Biden ran virtually unopposed in his primary and has the delegates to become the nominee.
Trump added: 'There's nothing they can do to get him out.'