(The Hill) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris suggests in her upcoming book that former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for reelection last year amounted to “recklessness.”
“And of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out,” Harris said in an excerpt for “107 Days,” published early Wednesday by The Atlantic. “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.”
“‘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.”
The former vice president ran a short presidential campaign last year after Biden withdrew from the 2024 race following a dismal debate that inflamed questions about his age and mental fitness. Harris went on to lose the election to President Donald Trump.
Harris announced last month that she would go on a book tour involving 15 cities, including the United Kingdom and Canada, for “107 Days.” The book, which outlines her short-lived White House bid, is expected to go on sale Sept. 23.
“Many people want to spin up a narrative of some big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity. Here is the truth as I lived it,” she said in the excerpt. “Joe Biden was a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction, able to discharge the duties of president.”
“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,” Harris continued. “That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles.”
She added, “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.”
The comments come just months after leaked audio from an interview between Biden and special counsel Robert Hur appeared to show the former president’s memory lapses and lack of focus. The audio, obtained by Axios, brought his mental health back to the spotlight more than 100 days after Trump took office.
The Hill has reached out to the White House, Biden and former first lady Jill Biden’s office for comment.
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