Kamala Harris reflects on why she did not ask Biden to quit sooner
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her concern that Joe Biden did not ask her to withdraw from the White House race.
In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC on Sunday, he said: “I am considering whether I should speak to him insisting that he should not stand for re-election.”
After months of speculation about his health and mental acuity, President Biden ended his bid for re-election in July 2024 after his disastrous performance in a debate against Donald Trump a few weeks ago.
Harris, who stepped in as the Democratic candidate but lost to Trump, explained in her book about the three-month campaign period that she did not discuss her concerns with President Biden about his ability. The then 81-year-old also did not raise the issue with him.
The former vice president wrote in his book 107 Days that Biden’s decision to run again is a choice that “should not be left to the ego and ambition of the individual.” He wrote that “perhaps” he should raise the issue with her.
In this interview, he told the BBC that he was still thinking about whether he should have acted differently and that he needed to talk to her about it.
“I think I should talk to him and insist that he doesn’t run away.” “My concern, especially with reflection, was, should I really have voiced this?” he said. He questioned whether it was “grace or indifference” that prevented him from speaking.
He added that his concern was not about Biden’s ability to serve as commander in chief, but about whether he could meet the demands of a tough campaign to remain in the White House.
When asked why there was a distinction, he said that there was a serious difference between being a candidate and fulfilling presidential duties. And he said running against Trump is even tougher.
He said he had a concern about himself [Biden’s] “With his talent and the level of stamina and energy it takes, especially running against the current president.”
The former vice president said it was difficult for him to talk because he would risk being accused of promoting his own political interests if he confronted Biden about his health.
“Part of the issue was: Would this actually be an effective and productive conversation otherwise, given what seems like self-interest?”
The issue of whether more members of Biden’s circle might challenge him on whether it is wise for him to run again has become a major point of contention.
In the book Original Sin, written by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, it was claimed that people close to him hid his physical deterioration from the public.
Biden aides pushed back on the claim, saying there were physical changes as he got older, but there was no evidence of intellectual disability and nothing that affected his ability to do the job.
In his first interview after leaving the White House in May this year, Biden told the BBC it wouldn’t have mattered if he had left the race earlier.
The former vice president is in England to promote his new book. In an extensive interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Harris also said that it was “possible” that she could run for the White House again.
He has already ruled out running for governor in his home state of California, and the former prosecutor told the BBC he was “not done” with the public service.
