Kamala Harris Memoir: 3 Biggest Bombshells From New Extract

An excerpt published by The Atlantic on Wednesday from former Vice President Kamala Harris’s forthcoming memoir, 107 Days, includes candid passages about former President Joe Biden’s fitness for office, Harris’s own loyalty and position in the West Wing, and how negative stories about her were handled.

Biden Was “Tired”, Didn’t Believe It Was Incapacity

In her account, Harris asserts that Biden “was a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction, able to discharge the duties of president,” and describes him as “more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best” days.

However, she also concedes that age took its toll on the president.

“But at 81, Joe got tired,” Harris wrote. “That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles. I don’t think it’s any surprise that the debate debacle happened right after two back-to-back trips to Europe and a flight to the West Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser. I don’t believe it was incapacity. If I believed that, I would have said so.”

Biden’s re-election campaign faced increased scrutiny following a debate between the two nominees, which led for calls from some for the then-president to bow out of the race.

Biden Re-Election Bid was “Recklessness”

She also reflects on the mantra repeated by Biden allies throughout 2024—”It’s Joe and Jill’s decision”—and now considers that approach a mistake.

“In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” Harris wrote. “The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

She said that if she believed Biden was incapable of serving as president, she “would have said so.”

“As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country,” the former vice president wrote.

Biden’s Inner Circle “Seemed Fine” with “Unfair” Stories

In the excerpt, Harris accuses the White House communications team of failing to defend her amid public criticism and partisan attacks. She also said Biden’s “inner circle seemed fine” when “unfair or inaccurate” stories were published about her.

“When Fox News attacked me on everything from my laugh, to my tone of voice, to whom I’d dated in my 20’s, or claimed I was a ‘DEI hire,’ the White House rarely pushed back with my actual résumé,” she wrote. “Getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible.”

She details one example involving a 2021 diplomatic trip to France, during which she says conservative outlets mischaracterized her remarks with claims she had faked a French accent. The resulting coverage, she said, overshadowed the diplomatic progress she made. “This was total nonsense,” Harris wrote, “but the White House seemed glad to let reporting about my ‘gaffe’ overwhelm the significant thaw in foreign relations I’d achieved.”

Harris also alluded to her feelings on Biden’s Oval Office broadcast in which he addressed his decision to drop out of the race.

“I watched it at the hotel that night. It was a good speech, drawing on the history of the presidency to locate his own place within it. But as my staff later pointed out, it was almost nine minutes into the 11-minute address before he mentioned me,” she recalled.

“‘I want to thank our great vice president, Kamala Harris. She is experienced, she’s tough, she’s capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and leader for our country.’

“And that was it.”

Newsweek reached out to Biden and Harris for comment on Wednesday.