Kamala Harris Talks Biden’s Debate Performance
Former Vice President Kamala Harris recently indicated that President Joe Biden seemed hesitant to debate Donald Trump, instead preferring to “talk it out,” which many believe contributed to his poor showing in the June 2024 debate.
During an appearance on the podcast “The CEO Diary,” hosted by Stephen Bartlett, Harris was questioned about Biden’s mental state leading up to the debate.
“He called me from debate camp, and I just felt like something was a little off,” Harris remarked. “My concern was… I don’t think it was just that he didn’t want to discuss it. He really didn’t want that.”
Bartlett pointed out how clear it was to observers that Biden was not ready for the debate with Trump, further questioning why Democratic leadership seemed to ignore this reality.
“You know, in any competition—whether you’re bidding, or in sports—you want to win,” Harris responded. “If you don’t want to compete, it’s definitely going to affect how you perform. And I think he didn’t want to argue, for sure.”
She continued, “We discussed it, and I think he was made aware of it. In debates, statistics can be misleading. Sometimes you’ll mix up countries or facts. It happens all the time. No debate is perfect.”
Biden’s lackluster performance prompted both media and Democratic leaders to confront an undeniable truth: many felt he was no longer fit for the presidency due to a noticeable decline in his mental health.
In their conversation, Bartlett also brought up Harris’s memoir, where she criticized Biden’s leadership style. She stated that the administration allowed negative narratives about her to fester instead of addressing them, suggesting it seemed they felt she needed to be kept in check.
“Did Joe Biden know that was happening?” Bartlett asked.
“I can’t say if he knew or not, but his staff was certainly responsible for it,” Harris replied. When pressed about whether she thought Biden wanted her to have less visibility, she said, “I think that was part of it. They seem to see things as a zero-sum game.”
Expressing her complicated feelings, Harris shared, “I have great love for [Biden]. But there were things he said that disappointed me and, honestly, really upset me.”
