Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kamala Harris has issued her most direct rebuke of Joe Biden to date, describing his choice to pursue a second term as "recklessness" in her upcoming memoir 107 Days.
"'It's Joe and Jill's decision.' We all said that, like a mantra, as if we'd all been hypnotized," Harris writes in an excerpt published by The Atlantic. "Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness."
Harris explains that she felt unable to directly advise Biden against running. "I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run," she wrote. "He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don't let the other guy win." She added, "As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country."
At 81, Biden's debate stumbles and fatigue raised doubts about his candidacy. "On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best," Harris wrote. "But at 81, Joe got tired. That's when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles."
In her memoir, Harris reflects on the challenges she faced as vice president, including her efforts to bring in significant private-sector investments aimed at improving conditions in Latin America to reduce migration. Rather than being acknowledged for these contributions, she says her role was misrepresented in political debates, while the White House communications team failed to defend her or emphasize the progress achieved under her leadership.
Harris believed that Biden's team often worked against her rather than offering support. She recalled that negative stories about her were left unchallenged, and at times it seemed as though his advisers preferred to see her diminished. In her view, they treated her successes as a liability, assuming that any recognition she received would take away from Biden, instead of understanding that her achievements could have strengthened his position.
Harris's memoir, which chronicles her 107-day presidential campaign and her complex relationship with Biden, will be released on September 23.