Washington — Former Vice President Kamala Harris writes that former President Joe Biden’s decision to run again was a choice that shouldn’t have “been left to an individuals’ ego, an individual’s ambition,” according to excerpts of her upcoming book, “107 Days,” published Wednesday in The Atlantic.
Harris, who suddenly became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in July 2024 when Biden dropped out of the race with 107 days until Election Day, criticized the “recklessness” of leaving that decision to the former president and first lady alone.
“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized,” Harris writes, according to The Atlantic. “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. It should have been more than a personal decision.”
Harris contemplated that “perhaps” she should have told the president to consider not running again, but said that of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out,” according to The Atlantic excerpts. Harris wrote she knew it would appear “incredibly self-serving” if she advised him not to run.
Harris’ book is also deeply critical of the president’s team, saying his inner circle often wouldn’t defend her against unfair attacks.
“Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked down a little bit more,” she writes.
Harris claimed the president’s staff “was adding fuel to negative narratives that sprang up around me,” including the narrative that she ran a “chaotic” office.
The former vice president also offers some defense of Biden’s capacity as president, while acknowledging he “got tired.”
“On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best,” she writes. “But at 81, Joe got tired. … 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, 60, announced this summer that she won’t run for governor of California next year, fueling speculation that she may make another bid for president in 2028. Her book is scheduled to be released Sept. 23.
