WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday evening that she regrets not expressing her concerns about then-President Joe Biden running for a second term when a majority of Americans felt he was too old for the job.
“I have and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on,” Harris told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC in her first live television interview since the election.
Such a conversation, even if it happened privately and behind the scenes, would have been an extraordinary breach in a relationship between a president and vice president.
Harris’ comments expand on a passage in her book, that looks back on her experience replacing Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee after of the race. Harris to Republican candidate .
In the book, Harris wrote that everyone in the White House would say 鈥渋t’s Joe and Jill’s decision鈥 about running for reelection, referring to the president and first lady.
鈥淲as it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,鈥 she wrote. 鈥淭he stakes were simply too high. This wasn鈥檛 a choice that should have been left to an individual鈥檚 ego, an individual鈥檚 ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.鈥
In her interview with Maddow, Harris said, “when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I’m talking about myself.鈥
Harris said in the interview she was concerned that 鈥渋t would come off as completely self-serving鈥 if she had counseled Biden not to seek reelection. She had competed against him for their party’s 2020 nomination, and she was well positioned to run again.
A representative for Biden declined comment.
Although Harris wrote that she wasn’t worried about Biden’s ability to continue doing the job, she had concerns about him campaigning.
鈥淗is voice was no longer strong, his verbal stumbles more frequent,鈥 she wrote. Before Biden dropped out, there were plans for him to run a White House-centric campaign while Harris did more traveling. A week after Biden’s against Trump, she wrote that 鈥渉e felt so frail.鈥
Harris turns 61 next month, and she hasn’t detailed her future plans. Asked about running for president again in 2028, Harris said 鈥渢hat’s not my focus right now.鈥 She’s already passed on an opportunity to of her home state of California.
She backed a plan by Gov. Gavin Newsom to to counteract a similar plan by Republicans in Texas that was intended to help Trump keep control of the House in next year’s midterms.
鈥淲e tend to play by the rules,” Harris said. “But I think this is a moment where you got to fight fire with fire.鈥
She spoke harshly about Trump in the interview, criticizing him as acting like 鈥渁 tyrant鈥 and 鈥淐ommunist dictators,鈥 saying 鈥渢hat’s what we’re dealing right now in Donald Trump.鈥
Harris also pointed the finger at business leaders who she accused of capitulating to the president.
鈥淭hese titans of industry are not speaking up,鈥 she said.
Maddow referenced a passage in Harris’ book where she wrote that Pete Buttigieg was her first choice for vice president but she was worried that Americans weren’t ready to vote for a ticket featuring a Black woman and a gay man.
鈥淚t’s hard to hear ... he couldn’t be on the ticket, effectively, because he was gay,” Maddow said.
Harris said 鈥渋t wasn’t about any prejudice on my part鈥 but 鈥渨e had such a short period of time, and the stakes were so high.鈥
鈥淚t made me very sad, but I also realized it would be a real risk,鈥 she said. Harris conceded 鈥渕aybe I was being too cautious.鈥
he was 鈥渟urprised鈥 by the passage in the book about him. He also said he believes in 鈥済iving Americans more credit.”
