Kamala Harris was asked to name the most effective presidents in American history. She didn’t mention Biden

Former Vice President Kamala Harris was asked to rank the most effective presidents in American history, and her answer did not include former President Joe Biden, whom she served under as vice president. Harris was speaking at a public event when the question was put to her directly by the event’s moderator.

Harris spoke at the National Urban League in New York on Friday night, where President Marc Morial asked her to answer the question. The event gave Harris a public platform to reflect on American political history, and her response quickly drew attention for who was left off her list.

According to Mediaite, her list included Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. Biden’s name did not come up at any point in her response, despite her having served as his vice president for a full term.

Harris named four presidents and explained her reasoning for each

When Morial asked her, “In your view, rank the top three most effective presidents in American history,” Harris responded, “Oh Marc, don’t make me do that,” before naming Franklin Roosevelt first.

She explained her choice by pointing to his policies during difficult economic times. “He did some good things,” she said. “In fact, it was he who talked about the expansion of the Supreme Court, and then he got ferocious… blowback for that. Social Security.”

She continues, “When I think about what he did in terms of investing in the people during dire times and talking about the role and responsibility of government, that it should not just be about the benevolence of community organizations or just interpersonal relationships. The government has a role. I think he was a very important president.”

Harris then named John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. “I credit Kennedy, of course, in terms of what he laid the groundwork for,” she said. “And then Johnson followed up on.” She ended her list with Barack Obama, under whom she did not serve, and cited his work on the Affordable Care Act. 

“And then of course, Barack Obama and what he did with the Affordable Care Act, among many things,” Harris said. “But in particular, 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, and addressing the way that he did and took a lot of heat for it, I think he’s one of the greatest presidents.”

Harris served as vice president under Biden from 2021 to 2025. She became the Democratic presidential nominee in the summer of 2024 after Biden dropped out of the race following a widely criticized debate performance against Donald Trump, in which he gave a rambling answer about the national debt.

Biden ended his reelection campaign about three weeks after that debate and endorsed Harris. She ran a shortened campaign that included some of Biden’s former campaign staff. Harris lost both the electoral vote and the popular vote to Trump in the 2024 election.

In a book she released last year, Harris wrote that Biden’s decision to seek reelection was “reckless” and driven by his “ego.” Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, has defended the family’s decisions around his pardon of Hunter Biden, saying they feared what a second Trump administration might do.

Biden himself has recently spoken publicly about his presidency as political attention around his time in office continues. There has been speculation that Harris may run for president again in 2028, though she has not made an announcement about her plans.