President Biden on Tuesday offered a confusing explanation as to why he won’t be attending Vice President Kamala Harris’ Tuesday night speech in his own literal backyard.

Ms. Harris will deliver what her presidential campaign is calling a “closing argument” in the election at the Ellipse, which sits right behind the White House’s South Lawn.

Mr. Biden’s schedule shows he will be at the White House during Ms. Harris’ prime-time speech, but he won’t be making an appearance.

“It’s for her,” Mr. Biden said when pressed by reporters in Baltimore why he won’t be attending the speech.

It wasn’t clear whether “it’s for her” meant that the event is her showcase on which he doesn’t want to intrude, or that his absence is at her request.

The Harris campaign has largely sidelined the president during the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

Mr. Biden said in September that he would hit the road regularly campaigning for Ms. Harris, but as the race comes to a close, that mostly hasn’t happened.

He appeared at one campaign event with Ms. Harris over Labor Day weekend. At one point, Mr. Biden suggested he would be doing a tour of Pennsylvania alongside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to boost Ms. Harris. That never materialized.

Over the weekend, Mr. Biden held a campaign event with union workers in Pittsburgh to boost Ms. Harris. However, the Harris campaign did not promote the appearance or offer a recap of it, as it does with most surrogates.

Mr. Biden’s approval ratings have not improved since he dropped out of the presidential race in July. For most of Mr. Biden’s presidency, his approval rating has been just below 40%. Currently, 54% of Americans disapprove of his job performance, according to FiveThirtyEight.