In the depths of Kamala Harris‘s floundering 2024 presidential campaign, top advisors for Joe Biden told her the president would understand if she chose to break from him.
Sources familiar with the conversations between the two political campaigns told the Daily Mail Team Biden knew she would have to separate herself from some of his more unpopular policies and stake out new territory if she was going to win the White House.
But she never did, they revealed, either out of loyalty or because she worried it would create backlash against her role in the administration.
That mentality led to the famous moment on The View, when she said that ‘there is not a thing that comes to mind,’ that she would do differently than Biden.
Harris revealed in the book that she was prepared to say that ‘great ideas come from all places’ and that she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet – but failed.
That was quintessential Harris.
‘Some of the decisions that were made on that side of the building were so tone deaf that there was not much we could do to fix it,’ a former Biden aide told the Daily Mail.
These damaging insider anecdotes are now seeping out of Biden White House loyalists, as the former staffers and advisors to the then president reel from the release of Harris new tell-all book ‘107 Days,’ a diary of her failed campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris listens to US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris walks on stage during a campaign rally
‘It’s like the political memoir’s equivalent of a Regina George burn book, settling scores and, with personal animus,’ a former senior Biden-Harris campaign official told the Daily Mail, referencing the movie ‘Mean Girls’.
‘It just struck me as very small,’ the insider added. Well now, these aggravated parties appear to be out for revenge.
Other former Biden advisors revealed Harris was very cautious about crossing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, frequently grilling Biden’s staff why their administration’s policies were at odds from hers.
Staffers found it strange she seemed more preoccupied with a left-wing radical from New York than the lead from the president of the United States, people familiar with the behind the scenes details told the Daily Mail.
Harris’s difficulties preparing for high-profile meetings and high-stakes media appearances are well-known, but Biden insiders say she took longer to get up to speed than even the aging president.
‘You’d think a candidate 20+ years younger would be able to prep faster and engage more with members of the media,’ the ex-campaign official said. ‘But we quickly found out that was indeed not the case.’
Harris famously botched her interview with NBC’s Lester Holt when she pointed out she ‘hadn’t been to Europe’ when he asked her why she hadn’t visited the border.
The blowup over her answer bothered her so much, she ultimately chose to visit the border herself, despite warnings from Biden staff not to engage Republicans on the issue.
What was worse, anytime Harris was asked a question she was not prepared for, she took it out on her staff according to people familiar with her campaign.
That, too, is one her known modus operandi. But there was only so much they could do.
Staff watched in horror, the Daily Mail was told, when interviewers asked her questions that she had been prepared for in advance with pre-rehearsed lines but then flubbed nevertheless.
Other former Biden aides were not pleased when Harris blamed the president’s staff for not defending her.
They recalled former press secretary Jen Psaki, who served in the Obama and the early Biden administration, frequently defended Harris, especially when she was under attack from Republicans.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters at Howard University after conceding the presidential race to Donald Trump
Kamala Harris in conversation with Errin Haines at The Town Hall
Democratic insiders expect Biden to remain above the fray – for now.
Both the Bidens are currently crafting their own books, in which they expect to address not just the party-wide betrayal of the president, but also his vice president.
Jill Biden, in particular, tends to hold grudges, and had a frosty relationship with Harris from the beginning.
‘I remember every slight committed against the people I love,’ Jill famously said in her 2019 memoir. ‘I can forgive, sure, but I don’t believe in rewarding bad behavior.’
But some former advisors caution that allowing Harris to continue her political ‘reset’ unchallenged could damage their legacy.
‘Acting with speed was a major blind spot for them when it came to the public relations strategies they follow,’ former advisor to First Lady Michael LaRosa told the Daily Mail.
‘It always feels rather tone deaf because they always leave it to others to tell their story instead of themselves.’
LaRosa cautioned that Harris’ new narrative about the Bidens, left unchallenged by the Biden’s directly, could further damage the family reputation.
‘It’s tragically misguided to believe that their books can help shape or save his legacy by giving them the last word,’ he said.
Biden world is confident that details in the book will fade over time, just like former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s memoir detailing how she lost to Trump.
Just two political candidates lost to President Trump in presidential campaign, and Harris is now one of them.
