Vice President Kamala Harris dismisses question about being on the ticket with Biden in 2024: 'I'm sorry, we are thinking about today'

• Vice President Kamala Harris was asked by NBC whether she will be Biden's running mate in 2024.
• "I'm sorry, we are thinking about today," Harris replied.

In an interview for NBC's "Today Show," Vice President Kamala Harris swatted away a question about whether she'll be President Joe Biden's running mate in 2024.

Harris, who is facing historically-low approval ratings for a vice president this early in a presidential term, explained to NBC's Craig Melvin why she took issue with the question.

"I'm sorry, we are thinking about today," Harris said in the interview, which aired on Thursday. "I mean, honestly — I know why you're asking the question, because this is part of the punditry and the gossip around places like Washington, DC. Let me just tell you something: we're focused on the things in front of us."

Harris cited affordable childcare as a priority before Melvin cut back in.

"So there've been no conversations about 2024?" Melvin said.

Harris didn't answer that one, either.

"The American people sent us here to do a job, and right now there's a lot of work to be done," Harris said. "And that is my focus, sincerely."

"I really could care less about the high-class gossip on these issues," she added.

Harris has had similar answers to questions about 2024 in the past, saying last November that she and Biden have "absolutely not" been discussing the next presidential election.

During former President Barack Obama's first term, then-Vice President Biden became the subject of similar speculation over whether he'd still be on the ticket in 2012. The same thing also happened to former Vice President Mike Pence ahead of 2020.

As Insider reported in October last year, some Harris allies have fretted over a potential contested primary in 2024 — particularly from Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — if Biden decides not to run.

Biden has used couched terms when it comes to running for reelection, saying it is his "plan" and "expectation" to run again in 2024. He's also said it's his "expectation" that Harris would be on the ticket with him.