Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed that Joe Biden “didn’t want” to debate Donald Trump and that she sensed something was “a little off” with him before the ill-fated showdown that led to the end of his re-election campaign.
Kamala Harris made the remarks while discussing her new book 107 Days with YouTube host Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO. The book chronicles the final stretch of the 2024 U.S. election.
“He called me from debate camp. The president did, Biden did. And I could tell something was a little off,” Harris recalled.
“I don’t think he wanted to debate is my point. He didn’t want that debate.”
Despite Biden being the first to publicly challenge Trump to the June 27, 2024 debate, Harris suggested his reluctance affected his performance.
“It’s like any competition. If it’s sports, you gotta want it, right? If you don’t want to be in the competition, it will absolutely have an impact on your performance,” she said. “And I don’t think he — I’m pretty sure he did not want to debate. … We had conversations about it.”
The 46th president’s shaky performance — where he spoke haltingly, mixed up his points, and made confusing remarks like “We finally beat Medicare” — drew widespread concern and ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race a month later.
Kamala Harrisadmitted she “watched that debate very closely” from a Los Angeles hotel, taking “vigorous notes.” Yet, at the time, she publicly defended Biden in a heated CNN interview, insisting,
“Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong,”
and dismissing suggestions that he should step aside.
Behind the scenes, however, internal discussions reportedly raised concerns about the president’s mental sharpness and health. Former White House aides told the House Oversight Committee that staff had debated whether Biden should take a cognitive test, though his doctor reportedly dismissed such exams as “meaningless.”
Former White House adviser Anita Dunn testified that even if Biden had taken multiple tests, it wouldn’t have silenced critics questioning his age and fitness.
Still, none of the officials who testified said Biden was unfit for office.
Elsewhere in the interview,Kamala Harris addressed excerpts from her book accusing members of the Biden White House of fueling “negative narratives” about her.
“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,” she wrote.
Speaking with Bartlett, Harris said,
“I was shocked when I read that, but at the same time, I understood it because it’s human nature… but also shocked because one wouldn’t expect this and it was counterproductive.”
When asked if Biden was aware of this behavior, she replied,
“I don’t know if he did, but it’s the staff underneath him that are in charge of that.”
Bartlett pressed further, asking whether those aides wanted her to appear “weaker in public perception.”Kamala Harris responded,
“I think that that was part of it… there are far too many people in this world and in professional life who approach things with a zero-sum game.”
Asked about her current relationship with Biden,Kamala Harris described it as “good” but “very complicated.”
“I have a great deal of affection for him. And there were times that I’ve been quite candid about where he greatly disappointed me and frankly, you know, angered me,” she said.
When asked if Biden genuinely wanted her to win the election after stepping down, Harris affirmed,
“I do, because I was the only one who would be able to preserve his legacy.”
Bartlett concluded, “But even that’s about him.”
