Kamala Harris’ media blitz is doing little to temper the frustration bubbling among Democrats over her retelling of the 2024 election.
Over the last 24 hours, the former vice president insisted she isn’t burning bridges in her own party, rejected the idea that her infamous interview on “The View” tipped the 2024 election and didn’t rule out another run for political office.
“In an era where Democrats need all hands on deck in the fight to protect the country and the constitution from the lawlessness of the Trump administration, she had a real opportunity to be a critical voice in the resistance,” said Michael Hardaway, a Democratic strategist who served as a senior adviser to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “This book seems to be unhelpful and divisive in a way that makes it hard for her to be the face of the party as we look to the future.”
More than six months after her losing election — and with Harris now back in the spotlight — her book, “107 Days,” has reopened wounds in a party still divided over who or what is primarily to blame for their sweeping losses and President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Harris, for her part, argued on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday that though “there were many factors,” ultimately, “we just didn’t have enough time.”
It’s not the first time a political memoir has prompted eyerolls. Hillary Clinton’s book tour in 2017 triggered a collective groan among infuriated Democrats, including one top donor who told POLITICO at the time “she should just zip it.” Biden, struggling to sell his post-presidency legacy, is expected to release his own White House memoir. Democrats privately worry the parade of scab-picking, backward-looking books isn’t helping the party move on, especially as its brand sinks to new lows in public polling.
“At a time when people are looking for a vision and leadership … and want to see leaders rise to the level of threat facing the country, it’s pretty crazy she chose to write a gossip book that prioritizes the pettiness of her politics,” said an adviser to a potential 2028 candidate granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. “It’s embarrassing for her, and for all Democrats, considering she was the leader of the party less than a year ago.”
During her interviews this week, Harris clarified some of her more candid assessments from her book, including her decision that it would be too risky, as she wrote, to put former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig, a gay man and her preferred running mate, on a ticket headed by “a Black woman married to a Jewish man.”
“It wasn’t about any prejudice, on my part, but we had such a short period of time and the stakes were so high,” Harris told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday night. “I think America is and would be ready for that, but when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go, you know, maybe I was being too cautious … but that’s the decision I made.”
Buttigieg told POLITICO last week that he found Harris’ comments “surprising” and believes in “giving Americans more credit.”
