president biden He returns to the campaign trail this weekend with stops in the largest of the battleground states: his native Pennsylvania.

The White House confirmed that the president will campaign on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats when he makes stops Friday in Philadelphia and Saturday in Scranton, where Biden, 81, was born and spent his early childhood.

But Harris, who four days before Election Day remains locked in a tight showdown with former President Trump in the race to succeed Biden in the White House, will not join her boss on the campaign trail.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign rally on the Ellipse on October 29, 2024, in Washington, DC (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

The vice president has stayed away from Biden, who polls show remains deeply unpopular among Americans, and his campaign quietly views him as a liability. And that was before the president made two egregious comments in the past two weeks that quickly went viral.

While Harris has noted the political successes of the Biden/Harris administration over the past four years during her campaign, she has emphasized that she will be an agent of change in the White House.

HARRIS TAGS TRUMP, EXPLAINS AGENDA, IN CLOSING ARGUMENT IN FRONT OF MASSIVE CROWD

In her closing speech Tuesday night at the Ellipse, just yards from the White House where the president was located, Harris emphasized: “I am honored to serve as Joe Biden’s vice president, but I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office.”

Almost two months have passed since the former running mates joined forces on the election campaign. You have to go back to Labor Day, when they joined forces at a union event in Pittsburgh.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate and President Biden arrive at a campaign event at the IBEW Local Union No. 5 hall in Pittsburgh on Labor Day, September 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Biden, 81, was replaced by Harris atop the 2024 Democratic ticket in July after ending his own candidacy amid a growing chorus of calls for him to drop out following a disastrous debate performance. against Trump. Biden told reporters two months ago that he would be “from then on” campaigning on behalf of his vice president.

It hasn’t happened.

And while former Democratic presidents Obama and Clinton have toured the campaign trail in recent weeks on Harris’ behalf, Biden’s efforts have been more limited and less publicized.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP CONFACE

While Biden has not attended many campaign events, he has taken official trips with political overtones to some of the seven key battleground states whose narrow margins decided his victory over Trump in 2020 and will likely determine whether Harris or Trump wins the elections. 2024 elections. .

The president has showcased the administration’s achievements at those events.

“I think they’re using it in a selective way that makes sense,” a political adviser in the president’s orbit told Fox News.

President Biden with Sen. Bernie, D-Vt., after Biden delivered remarks on lowering the cost of prescription drugs at NHTI Concord Community College on October 22, 2024, in Concord, NH (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Last week, Biden teamed up with progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at a political event in the swing state of New Hampshire to highlight his efforts to reduce health care costs.

The two octogenarians touted a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services that found nearly 1.5 million Medicare enrollees saved nearly $1 billion on prescription drugs during the first half of the year.

SEE THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ON THE 2024 ELECTION

But at a political event minutes later, Biden sparked controversy.

Speaking to supporters at the New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters in Concord, NH, Biden said of Trump, “We have to lock him up.”

While the president instantly corrected himself and added “lock him up politically,” the damage had already been done.

President Biden speaks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters in Concord, NH, on October 22, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

The opening comment gave Trump instant ammunition for his argument that the four indictments against him – and one conviction – are part of an elaborate Democratic Party witch hunt. This despite there being no evidence that the president or his administration played any role in Trump’s prosecutions and despite Trump’s repeated calls over the years to lock up his own political opponents.

Biden dug an even deeper hole Tuesday night, interfering with the vice president’s closing speech with more controversial comments during a video call with Latino supporters.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In denouncing racist comments made by a comedian at Trump’s Sunday rally in New York City that had dominated news coverage for a couple of days, Biden appeared to call the former president’s supporters “trash.”

Biden attempted to clean up the mess, saying he was referring to the Trump rally comedian’s “hateful rhetoric” and not the former president’s supporters in general.

But the Trump campaign and its allies immediately lashed out, and Biden’s comments dominated the news cycle for two days straight.

Harris on Wednesday morning rejected any notion of disparaging Trump supporters.

He noted that Biden had “clarified his comments” and added: “Let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”

Even before Biden’s comments, Harris was walking the tightrope that previous vice presidents running for the top job have faced, trying to balance supporting the boss and publicizing the administration’s accomplishments while highlighting a forward-thinking message and showed how they had to be different.

“This election is about Kamala Harris, so people need to see the vision she has for America… It’s important to keep the focus on her,” the New Hampshire-based veteran Democratic strategist told Fox News. and Harris convention delegate Jim Demers.

But Demers, who has also been a long-time Biden supporter and surrogate, noted that “we’re not going to stop Joe Biden from running the campaign and, in recent days, it’s good to see him urging people to Vote for Kamala Harris.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital Election Center.