Former Vice President Kamala Harris criticized the Biden White House for failing to support her during her 2024 presidential campaign, according to excerpts from her upcoming memoir, 107 Days, published by The Atlantic.
“They had a huge comms team; they had Karine Jean-Pierre briefing in the pressroom every day. But getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible,” Harris wrote.
She claimed that even when stories about her were unfair or inaccurate, the president’s aides appeared content to let negative coverage continue. “Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked down a little bit more,” Harris said.
Undermined in foreign policy and border issues
Harris cited multiple examples where she felt undermined. She recalled a 2021 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at thawing tensions between France and the US following the Australia-UK-US security pact.
Headlines mocked her for using a “French accent” during the trip, which she dismissed as “total nonsense,” but said the White House allowed the coverage to overshadow her diplomatic accomplishments.
Harris also criticized her treatment on domestic issues. Tasked with managing migration at the southern border, she said she received no support when Republicans mischaracterized her role as “border czar.” “No one in the White House comms team helped me to effectively push back and explain what I had really been tasked to do, nor to highlight any of the progress I had achieved,” she wrote.
Staff dynamics and perception
Harris said that the White House sometimes fueled negative narratives about her. “Worse, I often learned that the president’s staff was adding fuel to negative narratives that sprang up around me. One narrative that took a stubborn hold was that I had a ‘chaotic’ office and unusually high staff turnover during my first year,” she said.
She also highlighted the zero-sum thinking among Biden aides. “Their thinking was zero-sum: If she’s shining, he’s dimmed. None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well… His team didn’t get it,” Harris wrote.
Memoir and election aftermath
The memoir explores the challenges Harris faced during her 2024 campaign, which ultimately ended with her losing the presidential race to Donald Trump. The book, detailing her monthslong campaign and experiences as vice president, is set to release on September 30.
