{"id":34033,"date":"2025-09-23T22:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T22:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/34033\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T22:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T22:59:17","slug":"4-things-i-learned-from-kamala-harriss-memoir-107-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/34033\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Things I Learned From Kamala Harris\u2019s Memoir, \u201c107 Days\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

Kamala Harris gives her candid and unvarnished perspective on her historic bid for presidency in her memoir, 107 Days<\/a>, which was released today. The book<\/a> details the challenges and regrets the former vice president experienced during her 2024 presidential campaign against Donald Trump, including her strained relationship with Joe Biden and her hopes for a potential running mate. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe there is value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what I know it will take to move forward,\u201d Harris said of the memoir in a previously released statement. \u201cIn writing this book, one truth kept coming back to me. Sometimes the fight takes a while, but I remain full of hope and I remain clear-eyed. I will never stop fighting to make our country reflect the very best of its ideals always on behalf of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead, Harper\u2019s Bazaar breaks down the four biggest highlights from 107 Days.<\/p>\n

1 | Her relationship with Biden is fractured.\"president<\/p>\n

Anna Moneymaker\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Throughout the book, Harris struggles to reconcile her loyalty toward President Joe Biden and his administration with her frustrations for Biden\u2019s apparent lack of support for her candidacy.<\/p>\n

She recalls the first time that Biden suggested Harris may run in his stead during the 2024 presidential election. \u201cIf for any reason I had to drop out, I would support you, but only if that\u2019s what you want. It\u2019s occurred to me I haven\u2019t asked you,\u201d Harris recalled Biden telling her in the White House, per NBC<\/a>. Harris recalled responding, \u201cI\u2019m fully behind you, Joe. But if you decide not to run, I\u2019m ready. And I would give it all I\u2019ve got, because Trump has to be beaten.\u201d Biden called her a week later to tell her that he would be dropping out from the race.<\/p>\n

Tensions rose early between Biden and Harris. \u201cMy feelings for him were grounded in warmth and loyalty, but they had become complicated, over time, with hurt and disappointment,\u201d Harris wrote. She felt slighted by his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, where, she wrote, \u201c[h]e spoke for nearly an hour, detailing the accomplishments of our administration. … It was a legacy speech for him, not an argument for me, and he was entitled to it. But if we waited for some personal stories about working with me and what qualities he had seen that led him to endorse me, they weren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her campaign, Harris felt as though Biden didn\u2019t protect her from unfair criticism\u2014and, at times, worsened it. She recalled an instance in which Biden, during a 9\/11 anniversary visit with Pennsylvania firefighters, had donned a MAGA hat given to him by a Trump supporter. The image instantly went viral, with the public interpreting the act as Biden endorsing Trump over Harris. \u201cI was still vice president to President Biden,\u201d Harris wrote, per NBC. \u201cWe had three months left of our administration. Even after the lack of support from the White House, the debate night phone call, and the MAGA hat debacle, I felt I owed him my loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments before a presidential debate, Harris recalled receiving a phone call from Biden, who at first wished her luck before asking her if she had spoken ill of him to \u201cpower brokers.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI just couldn\u2019t understand why he would call me, right now, and make it all about himself. Distracting me with worry about hostile power brokers in the biggest city of the most important state,\u201d Harris wrote, per The Guardian<\/a>. Meanwhile, Harris\u2019s husband, Doug Emhoff, immediately sensed her anger and tried to soothe her. \u201c \u2018Let it go,\u2019 he said. He knew I had to redirect my focus. \u2018Don\u2019t worry about him. You\u2019re dealing with Trump. Let it go.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

2 | She had a different choice in mind for her running mate.\"us<\/p>\n

MANDEL NGAN\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Harris may have run her presidential campaign with Minnesota governor Tim Walz, but she originally had a very different running mate in mind. <\/p>\n

In 107 Days, Harris reveals that her first choice for a running mate was Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, one of her close friends and a former presidential contender during the 2020 race. Buttigieg \u201cwould have been an ideal partner\u2014if I were a straight white man,\u201d she wrote, per an excerpt published in The Atlantic<\/a>. \u201cBut we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let\u2019s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buttigieg responded to Harris\u2019s memoir mention in an interview with Politico<\/a> earlier this month. \u201cMy experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you\u2019re going to do for their lives, not on categories,\u201d he told the outlet.<\/p>\n

Other running mate candidates Harris considered included Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona senator Mark Kelly.<\/p>\n

3 | She has some campaign regrets.\"us<\/p>\n

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Harris details some of the regrets she has over certain moments from her 2024 campaign. One of the biggest regrets is her highly criticized response to a question on ABC\u2019s The View about what she would do differently from Biden, to which she answered, \u201cThere is not a thing that comes to mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had prepped for that question; I had notes on it,\u201d Harris wrote, per NBC. \u201cThere was the answer I\u2019d given in the debate: \u2018I\u2019m not Joe Biden and I\u2019m certainly not Donald Trump.\u2019 I had a note that I was a new and different generation. And I had this: \u2018But to specifically answer your question, throughout my career I have worked with Democrats, independents, and Republicans, and I know that great ideas come from all places. If I\u2019m president I would appoint a Republican to my cabinet.\u2019 But I didn\u2019t say any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also expresses dismay at how she handled the release of antitransgender ads in battleground states. \u201cI do not regret my decision to follow my protective instincts. I do regret not giving even more attention to how we might mitigate Trump\u2019s attacks,\u201d she wrote. \u201cCharacter matters. I wish I could have gotten the message across that there isn\u2019t a distinction between \u2018they\/them\u2019 and \u2018you.\u2019 The pronoun that matters is \u2018we.\u2019 We the people. And that\u2019s who I am for.\u201d <\/p>\n

4 | Her political future is uncertain.\"vice<\/p>\n

Andrew Harnik\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

For now, Harris paints her future in politics in an ambiguous light. She doesn\u2019t definitively say whether or not she plans to run for the Oval Office again\u2014but she also doesn\u2019t leave that possibility entirely off the table either.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this critical moment, working within the system, by itself, is not proving to be enough,\u201d she wrote, per NBC. \u201cI\u2019ll no longer sit in D.C. in the grandeur of the ceremonial office. I will be with the people, in towns and communities where I can listen to their ideas on how we rebuild trust, empathy, and a government worthy of the ideals of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWe need to come up with our own blueprint that sets out our alternative vision for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

107 Days<\/p>\n

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