"Biden's Re-Election Bid Was Reckless" Harris Issues First Public Criticism 10 Months After Election Defeat

Harris Took Over as Candidate and Ran a 107-Day Campaign
"Knew About Biden's Health Issues Long Ago"
"White House Officials Did Not Actively Support the Campaign"

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to President Donald Trump in last year's U.S. presidential election, has publicly criticized former President Joe Biden's actions during the campaign. According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 10th (local time), Harris revealed in an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir published in the current affairs magazine The Atlantic that she now considers Biden's decision to run for re-election "reckless in hindsight." The book, titled "107 Days" after the length of her presidential campaign, is set to be published later this month.

Kamala Harris, former Vice President of the United States. Photo by Asia Economy Database

At the time, Harris took over as the Democratic presidential candidate midway through the campaign after public opinion turned against Biden, who was seeking re-election, due to concerns about his declining cognitive abilities. As a result, her campaign lasted only 107 days, and she lost to President Trump in a relatively unfavorable environment. Harris recalled that she had "known about Biden's health issues for a long time," but said she was "in the worst possible position (as Vice President)" to urge him not to run.

She questioned whether she should have told the Bidens to reconsider the re-election bid, saying, "During those months when anxiety (among supporters over the re-election campaign) was growing, should I have told them not to run? Maybe (I should have, but I don't know)." Harris also claimed that after Biden withdrew from the race, his close associates either failed to actively support her or simply stood by.

Harris asserted, "Their mindset was zero-sum. If she (Harris) shines, he (Biden) fades," adding, "My success mattered to him, but his team didn't understand that. It seemed as if they decided I needed to be diminished a bit more." She further pointed out, "For example, when the Republicans distorted my role as 'border czar,' no one on the White House communications team helped me effectively refute or explain what I had actually done." She also noted that when Biden delivered his withdrawal speech last July, which lasted about 11 minutes, "it took almost nine minutes before he mentioned me."

This is the first time Harris has publicly criticized Biden. Recently, within the Democratic Party, there have been statements that Biden's decision to seek re-election was a mistake and led to the defeat. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last May that Biden's re-election bid was "probably a mistake." Senator Chris Murphy stated there was "no doubt" that Biden experienced cognitive decline while in office. Pennsylvania Governor George Shapiro pointed out, "I warned Biden's team that there was a risk of losing key swing states in the election, but he pressed ahead with his re-election campaign."