'Individual ego, recklessness': Kamala Harris on Biden's second term bid

Kamala Harris writes she was sidelined by Joe Biden's team, saying her Latin America investment push was ignored while Republicans branded her the 'border czar', damaging her image

Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has criticised former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second term, describing it as a risky move in her new memoir. The remark is featured in her new memoir 107 Days, excerpts of which were published by The Atlantic on Wednesday.

 

In her memoir, Harris recalls how difficult it was for her to push back on Biden’s decision because it could easily have been seen as self-serving. “And of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out,” she writes. Harris says Biden might have viewed such advice as “naked ambition” or even “poisonous disloyalty".

 

She also reflects on how the administration framed the decision at the time. “It’s Joe and Jill’s decision. We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotised,” she notes. But looking back, Harris says that stance was a mistake.

 

“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 writes.   

 

The memoir also highlights moments when Harris felt sidelined by Biden’s team or denied credit for her work. She noted that despite securing billions in private investment for Latin American countries to reduce migration, Republicans branded her the “border czar” — a label that hurt her image during her campaign.

 

Further, Harris dismissed claims of a cover-up around Biden’s age but admitted his 81 years showed in “physical and verbal stumbles”. She described him as “a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction” but added, "But at 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles".

 

Biden eventually quit the 2024 race after a poor debate against Donald Trump, which intensified doubts about his age and ability to serve. Trump went on to win the election, defeating Harris.

 

Moments of disappointment

 

Harris recounted watching Biden’s televised address during a hurricane crisis in Texas in July 2024. She said it was “a good speech” but her staff pointed out that she was mentioned only near the end.

 

Her reflections add to the tensions often rumoured between Biden and Harris. The two had run against each other in 2020 before Biden picked her as his running mate.

 

Launch of 107 Days

 

The book’s title refers to the length of Harris’s failed presidential campaign. It will be published in full later this month, with The Atlantic having already released a 3,000-word excerpt.

 

Harris has also announced a 15-city international book tour across the US, Canada, and the UK. “Since leaving office, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those days,” she said in an earlier announcement. “I believe there’s value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what it will take to move forward.”

 

107 Days is Harris’s third book, following her 2019 memoir The Truths We Hold and her children’s book Superheroes Are Everywhere.