In her highly anticipated memoir “107 Days,” Vice President-turned-presidential candidate Kamala Harris doesn’t hold back. An excerpt published by The Atlantic on Wednesday reveals her candid reflections on the chaotic 2024 election cycle — and she takes aim at the White House decision-making that let President Joe Biden decide whether to seek reelection.
“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 writes.
She describes the process as almost hypnotic, admitting that she and other top officials were swept up in letting Biden and First Lady Jill Biden call the shots.
The VP Felt Undermined
Harris doesn’t shy away from critiquing Biden’s team for not fully supporting her when polls began showing her popularity rising.
“None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well. That given the concerns about his age, my visible success as his vice president was vital,” she wrote.
Her words suggest frustration at a team more focused on internal dynamics than the optics of her performance.
Defending Biden While Critiquing the System
Despite the critiques, Harris defends Biden personally. She acknowledges the physical and mental toll of the presidency, particularly at 81 years old with a grueling schedule.
“Even 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.
However, she emphasizes that fatigue played a role in the 2024 campaign, clarifying that any missteps weren’t signs of 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 adds, directly addressing criticism around Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in June 2024.
A No-Holds-Barred Memoir
107 Days, which drops on September 23, is Harris’ attempt to give an insider account of her presidential campaign following Biden’s exit from the race. The book promises to detail the 2024 campaign’s pivotal moments, White House dynamics, and Harris’ reflections on leadership under pressure.
With her unfiltered commentary, Harris is clearly signaling a willingness to speak truth to power, even when that power is her former boss.
What to Expect
Readers can anticipate a behind-the-scenes look at the White House, insights into Harris’ own campaign strategies, and her personal reflections on navigating politics at the highest level. This memoir may reshape how the public perceives both the 2024 election and Harris’ role in it.