Vice President Kamala Harris commanded the White House stage on Thursday, testing the limits of her campaign strategy of claiming the “change candidate” mantle while also running as a de facto incumbent.

At a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in her ceremonial office and at an East Room event to tout new gun-control executive actions, Ms. Harris wrapped herself with presidenital airs.

And yet, since becoming the Democratic nominee last month, Ms. Harris has sought to unburden herself from President Biden’s shadow and his unpopular record on the economy and immigration, arguably the two most defining issues of the 2024 election. 

In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Committee, she promised “a new way forward.”

At the same time, Ms. Harris is tapping into the power of incumbency, using the bully pulpit of the White House to promote her campaign. And the White House has pushed her foreign policy bonafides by increasingly touting her role in Mr. Biden’s meetings. White House readouts of calls or meetings with foreign leaders now often note Ms. Harris’ involvement in high-profile talks.

No more was this on display than at the White House Thursday. Ms. Harris met one-on-one with Mr. Zelenskyy and delivered remarks ahead of her meeting. Mr. Biden’s sit-down with Mr. Zelenskyy earlier in the day was only covered by the reporters in the presidential press pool.

Ms. Harris later joined Mr. Biden on stage at the East Room event to announce efforts to tamp down on gun violence.

Critics accuse Ms. Harris of wanting to have her cake and eat it, too. They say she’s trying to distance herself from a Biden presidency scarred by soaring inflation and voter anxiety while capitalizing on the benefits of working in the White House.

“Her campaign is using the power of the presidency to portray her as the incumbent despite the fact that she is not the incumbent and has no serious accomplishments as vice president,” said Jimmy Keady, a Republican strategist.

Mr. Keady added that Ms. Harris has “gone out of her way to distance herself from her boss.”

Democrat strategist Brad Bannon said it was a strong political strategy for Ms. Harris to separate herself from the issues that are unpopular with voters, such as Mr. Biden’s economic proposals while embracing things that are more popular among the electorate, such as support for Ukraine and cracking down on gun violence. 

“Are we criticizing Harris for being a smart politician?” he said. “Smart politicians get elected president.”

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Harris and Mr. Zelenskyy stood side-by-side behind podiums emblazoned with official seals on them Thursday afternoon, an optic usually reserved for the president. She laid out both the administration’s foreign policy and used the platform to take a shot at former President Donald Trump’s strategy in Ukraine.

“History is so clear in reminding us the United States cannot and should not isolate itself from the rest of the world. Isolation is not insulation. So then the United States supports Ukraine, not out of charity but because it is in our strategic interest,” she said.

Ms. Harris also highlighted concerns that Mr. Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, would force Kyiv to concede territory to Russian aggression. She said such a proposal would play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security. These proposals are those of Putin, and let us be clear: they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” she said without mentioning Mr. Trump by name.

Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson, accused Ms. Harris of running away from the Biden-Harris administration’s record.

“Kamala Harris is wholly responsible for the problems we are facing. She can’t run from her record, and if she actually wanted to fix the problems, she could go back to the White House and do it right now,” she said in a statement to The Times.

Later Thursday, Ms. Harris spoke at a White House event to promote an executive order by Mr. Biden aimed at curbing gun violence. The order would provide states with $135 million for crisis intervention by expanding so-called red flag laws, which empower authorities to remove weapons from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Ms. Harris has championed red flags to such an extent that the pro-firearm group Gun Owners of America mocked Mr. Biden’s action by saying, “Kamala Harris issues first executive order.”

During her remarks, Ms. Harris not only decried the epidemic of gun violence in America but also took the lead in urging Americans to remain safe as Hurricane Helene approached landfall. 

“The president and I are closely monitoring the situation,” she said before launching into remarks on gun violence. 

Ms. Harris’ strategy has worked to varying degrees.

She appears to have shaken off Mr. Biden’s baggage when it comes to the economy, but overall, voters have shown difficulty separating her from the president. 

A Fox News poll this month found that 51% of registered voters favor Mr. Trump on the economy, compared with 46% who favor Ms. Harris. When President Biden was the Democratic candidate, Mr. Trump held a 15-percentage-point advantage on the economy. A handful of other polls showed similar gains by Ms. Harris.

Several recent polls also revealed that voters see her as another Biden.

A Rasmussen Reports survey revealed that 32% of likely U.S. voters say Ms. Harris deserved a lot of blame for the failures of Mr. Biden’s policies, while 23% believe she deserves some of the blame. Another 25% said Ms. Harris doesn’t deserve much of the blame, and 15% said she doesn’t deserve any blame.

A separate poll from Savanta found that 56% of registered voters said Ms. Harris’ policies will be significantly similar to Mr. Biden’s policies, while 30% said her policies will be different. The same poll found that overall, 41% said Ms. Harris has “significant or great” influence on Mr. Biden’s policies, compared to 26% who said she had no influence.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.