In a rare appearance on the campaign trail on Tuesday night, President Joe Biden said that Vice President Kamala Harris, his running mate-turned-Democratic Party standard bearer, would "chart her own course" as president if elected in November.

“Kamala will take the country in her own direction, and that’s one of the most important differences in this election,” the incumbent president said. “Kamala's perspective on our problems will be fresh and new. Donald Trump’s perspective old and failed and quite frankly, thoroughly totally dishonest.”

"Every president has to cut their own path, that’s what I did,” Biden told the crowd gathered at the Sheet Metal Workers International Association in Philadelphia. “I was loyal to Barack Obama, and I cut my own path as president. That’s what Kamala is going to do.”

Biden's comments are the latest in an effort to give the vice president breathing room from his administration. Despite the popularity of his legislative accomplishments – like the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, efforts to lower prescription drug costs via the Inflation Reduction Act and a rash of domestic manufacturing commitments secured thanks, in part, to the CHIPS and Science Act – the president's approval rating is still underwater, though it's grown somewhat since he dropped out of the race in favor of Harris.

Harris, for her part, has praised Biden and his accomplishments, even saying on "The View" earlier this month that she wouldn't have done anything differently from her boss, a comment that has been turned into a line of attack by Trump and his allies, though later shifting gears and saying she'd appoint a Republican to her Cabinet as a point of contrast.

She has deflected questions about how she'd differ from the incumbent by saying "I’m not Joe Biden," but hasn't offered too many specific details to offer changes.

Biden didn't just hail his hopeful successor – "When I decided it was time to pass the torch to the next generation, I knew. I knew who I wanted to replace me," he said of Harris – he hammered his predecessor, blasting Trump on issues ranging from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to his refusal to debate the vice president again.

"She beat him so badly in the debate," Biden said, that he's "scared to death" to face her again. (He did, however, commit a gaffe here, saying as quoted, "he's scared to death to beat her again.")

Biden attacked Trump for calling the country a "hellscape" and a "failed nation," adding: "Where the hell's he from?"

"A president calling America a 'failed nation,' it makes me angry," Biden said. "I say America's winning. We're the most powerful nation in the world, the most respected nation in the world."

"Trump says we're losers, but the only loser I know is Donald Trump," the president added. 

Biden took aim at Trump's economic proposals and desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act, while attacking the former president over the civil and criminal cases against him, including the 34 felonies he was found guilty of committing in his New York hush money case. Trump, Biden said, represents the past, while Harris represents a new way forward.

"Kamala's perspectives on our problems will be fresh and new," Biden said. "Donald Trump's are old and failed and, quite frankly, thoroughly, totally dishonest."

Biden encouraged Pennsylvanians and Philadelphians alike to "get out the vote," telling the crowd that they've "got a lot of work to do" in the crucial battleground state. 

“Every generation faces a moment where democracy has to be defended,” the president said. “This is our moment.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.