President Biden was well aware that Vice President Kamala Harris was 'not fit for the job' of commander in chief, and President Biden liked it that way. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer He became a running mate for vice president in 2020, but bowed to public pressure, according to a new book released Tuesday.
In his book “Amateur Hour: Kamala Harris in the White House,” veteran Washington journalist Charlie Spiering writes that Biden has promised to choose a woman, and that Biden has responded to lobbying for Harris from former President Barack Obama. wrote that he chose Harris a few days before the de facto Democratic National Convention that year.
Harris, 59, is “very close to the presidency,” but the 81-year-old has “the many hardships and failures of her first few years in office top of mind” as she prepares to become the next president. re-election campaign, Spearing writes.
These issues include her “bullying” of White House staff and “refusal to be a team player” with other members of the administration, as well as her “artificial” public presence and notoriety. It included a high-pitched laugh and a near-constant “word salad.” It cannot convey any kind of message.
One former staffer said her “soul-destroying criticism” led to a wave of resignations from senior positions. protest against the washington post At the end of 2021, the incident forced her to stop using her favorite curse word, “Mom, you know.”
Spearing added that the “cheerful, incompetent, pioneering radical” had a “disastrous and comical first few years as vice president” and had limited authority as the Biden administration's border czar. Ta.
But nearly four years later, Biden is in the middle of another campaign with the same running mate, asking questions that sound like “Washington's favorite parlor game.” “How do we fix Kamala Harris?”
The book details that Harris was also not chosen by Biden's wife, Jill. Gill endorsed former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice for the role, seeking to bring her supporters closer after a heated Democratic primary debate that said the California senator “should go.” He was furious. herself.
During a June 2019 debate, Harris accused Biden of touting her ability to work across the aisle with racist senators in the 1970s, calling out the longtime Delaware senator. He added that he believes Biden is “not a racist” after serving in the White House, but that his comments were “hurtful” given his personal experience. .
“You worked with them on anti-busing,” said Harris, who was part of the second wave of public school integration when she was growing up in Berkeley, California.
Although Harris suspended her presidential campaign several months later, she remains the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate and said she was “taking the opportunity to raise her profile” following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020. I caught it.”
The protests and riots that continued throughout the summer of 2020 after Floyd's death began to sway over the fact that Biden's eventual running mate would not just be a woman, but a Black woman.
Whitmer had lobbied for Harris in the wake of the Floyd riots, but Biden reportedly “called her and urged her to stay on as she weighed her options.” It is being
“As Biden remained indecisive, a key ally of Harris tried to reassure him about Vice President Harris' ideas: Biden's former boss, President Barack Obama, who was already a fan.” Speerling writes.
“Behind the scenes, Mr. Obama patiently reminded Biden to let go of the past when making decisions.” One of President Obama's political advisers [sic] The former president assured me that he made sure Biden made the choice and refrained from supporting her outright. ”
As a former vice president himself, Biden recognized that Harris “lacks” the necessary political skills, but, in Spearing's words, “is the best candidate for vice president in modern history.” This resulted in one of the most pandering decisions ever made.
Instead, she added, Harris “barely contained her irritation and disdain for the president” throughout her tenure and “read platitudes from a teleprompter” at her public events.
With less than 300 days left until the general election, Harris says she is “still in the same position despite repeated attempts to reset the narrative and field training,” adding that she is “taking Biden's place and leading the Democratic Party into the future.” I'm not in a position to guide you.''
Spearing said there is “no way” to change the Biden-Harris pairing unless the president's campaign “admits it made a big mistake.”
““Once you are judged as unworthy, there is little you can do to change people’s minds,” he writes.
“Mistake upon mistake has only strengthened her reputation, and when you reach that level of power there is little room for sympathy. There's a lot of negative chatter behind the scenes, but there's a lot of negative talk about racist and sexist people. Few dare to speak out publicly for fear of being stigmatized.”
