Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has described allowing Joe Biden to run for a second term as “recklessness,” in excerpts from her upcoming memoir, 107 Days, published by The Atlantic.
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic candidate in 2024 but lost to Donald Trump, opened up about the challenges of Biden’s age and the lack of support she received as his deputy.
Reflecting on the internal discussions surrounding Biden’s re-election, Harris admitted,
“It’s Joe and Jill’s decision. We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition.”
Biden, then 81, shocked the political world by dropping out of the race in July 2024 after a disastrous debate performance against Trump reignited concerns about his age and fitness for office.
While denying any conspiracy to hide Biden’s condition, Harris acknowledged that his age was an undeniable factor.
“On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best. But at 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles.”
The former VP also criticized the White House staff, accusing them of undermining her instead of providing support.
“When the stories were unfair or inaccurate, the president’s inner circle seemed fine with it. Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked down a little bit more,” Harris claimed.
She revealed that she often shouldered the blame for Biden’s border policies – a political liability Trump heavily capitalized on during the campaign.
Harris ultimately lost to Trump in what became the shortest presidential campaign in modern US history, lasting just over three months – the “107 days” that now serve as the title of her memoir.
