Kamala Harris is opening up about the behind-the-scenes tension around Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign decision. In an excerpt from her new book 107 Days, published in The Atlantic, Harris reflects on her last-minute presidential run and calls it “reckless” that Democrats let Biden ultimately decide whether to run again despite concerns about his age and health.
Kamala Harris Calls Biden Decision ‘Reckless’
In her memoir, Harris doesn’t hold back. She admits that even though she understood how it might look if she questioned Biden’s choice, it still felt wrong that the decision rested only on him and his inner circle.
“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,” Harris wrote. “‘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. 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 Reflects on Biden’s Age and Health
Harris also addresses the elephant in the room: Biden’s age. At 81, she admits that fatigue and travel took a visible toll on him. But she stops short of saying he was unfit for office.
“At 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles. 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,” Harris wrote. “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.”
The Aftermath: Biden’s Exit and Harris’ Defeat
The irony is that when Biden finally bowed out and endorsed Harris, the move didn’t play out how Democrats hoped. Harris entered the race with momentum but ultimately lost her presidential bid, proving that timing and party unity matter just as much as individual endorsements.
By putting this all on record, Harris is not just telling her story—she’s also leaving a warning for Democrats about how decisions get made at the top. The weight of a presidential run is bigger than one man’s choice. And when the party fumbles, the country feels it.
Now, with her book 107 Days hitting shelve on September 23, Harris is sparking conversation about leadership, loyalty, and accountability inside the Democratic Party.