Former Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a> wrote about her tense relationship with former President Joe Biden<\/a>‘s White House team in the first excerpt of her new book<\/a>, which revolves around her short-lived presidential campaign<\/a>. She complained that Biden’s team did not give her the support she needed and, at times, bluntly sabotaged her in the run-up to the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

Harris’s book 107 Days<\/em>, set for release on Sept. 23, is said to shed light on behind-the-scenes moments during her 107-day sprint for the White House. The first excerpt was published <\/a>in the Atlantic<\/em> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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In the released excerpt, Harris wrote that she often butted heads with Biden’s team, citing numerous encounters to support her point. In one instance, she disagreed that her success would have outshone Biden.<\/p>\n
“Their thinking was zero-sum: If she’s shining, he’s dimmed. None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well,” Harris wrote. “That, given the concerns about his age, my visible success as his vice president<\/a> was vital. It would serve as a testament to his judgment in choosing me and reassurance that if something happened, the country was in good hands. My success was important for him.”<\/p>\n
“His team didn’t get it,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
Harris reflected on how Biden only mentioned her once during last summer’s Oval Office speech, in which he addressed his late exit from the 2024 presidential election and passing of the torch to Harris.<\/p>\n
“I watched it at the hotel that night. It was a good speech, drawing on the history of the presidency to locate his own place within it. But as my staff later pointed out, it was almost nine minutes into the 11-minute address before he mentioned me,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
“I would like to thank our great vice president, Kamala Harris,” Biden said in the July 24 televised address<\/a>. “She’s experienced. She’s tough. She’s capable. She has been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.”<\/p>\n
Harris expressed her disappointment in Biden’s lack of thanks but noted she’s a “loyal person.” Still, there was palpable tension between her team and the White House staff. She wrote that the Biden team did not stand up for her as opponents berated her intelligence and public skills.<\/p>\n
“Getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
One of the strongest points of criticism from Republicans during the campaign was Harris’s refusal to acknowledge Biden’s age as a concern. In her book, she dismissed her responsibility to do that, citing her awkward position as next in line. However, she also called her deference to the president and first lady reckless.<\/p>\n
“Of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out,” Harris wrote. “I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run. He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don’t let the other guy win.”<\/p>\n
“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” she added. “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. It should have been more than a personal decision.”<\/p>\n
While admitting that Biden’s age caused lapses in his performance, Harris used the same excuses made by prominent Democrats about Biden’s July debate performance.<\/p>\n
“At 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles,” she said, pointing to Biden’s international travel as the reason for his disastrous debate performance<\/a> with then-candidate Donald Trump<\/a> in June 2024.<\/p>\n
HARRIS ANNOUNCES FALL BOOK TOUR FOR HER UPCOMING MEMOIR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that the debate debacle happened right after two back-to-back trips to Europe and a flight to the West Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser. I don’t believe it was incapacity. If I believed that, I would have said so. As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country,” Harris said.<\/p>\n
Harris is slated to visit 15 cities for her book tour, starting in New York City the day after the book’s release later this month. Most of the tour stops are in the United States, but there will be one stop each in England and Canada this fall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n