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 running as a de facto incumbent.

At a meeting with Ukrainian 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 presidential airs.

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 election.

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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 White House bully pulpit to promote her campaign. The White House has pushed her foreign policy bona fides 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 on Thursday. Ms. Harris met one-on-one with Mr. Zelenskyy and delivered remarks before her meeting. Mr. Biden’s meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy earlier in the day was covered only 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 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 Party strategist.

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

Democratic Party strategist Brad Bannon said it was a solid 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 issues 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 lecterns emblazoned with official seals, an optic usually reserved for the president. She laid out 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 cede 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 forgo 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 avoiding 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 Washington 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 give states $135 million for crisis intervention by expanding so-called red flag laws, which empower authorities to remove weapons from those deemed dangers 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 decried the epidemic of gun violence in America and 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 economic baggage, but 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 Ms. Harris as a continuation of Mr. Biden.

A Rasmussen Reports survey revealed that 32% of likely U.S. voters said Ms. Harris deserved a lot of blame for the failures of Mr. Biden’s policies, while 23% said 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 Savanta poll 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 with 26% who said she had no influence.