Former Vice President Kamala Harris admits she is not without blame for former President Joe Biden seeking re-election.
In fact, she shares the blame with fellow Democrats in what she termed “recklessness” for his candidacy to proceed, per Politico.
Harris spoke about what happened Monday with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow before the release of her memoir, “107 days,” about her run for the presidency in 2024.
“When I write this, it’s because I realize that I have and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on,” Harris said. “And so when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I’m talking about myself.”
Harris also talked about her decision not to choose Pete Buttigieg — her favored candidate — to be her running mate. She has cited the optics of a Black woman and gay man on the ticket would be off-putting.
“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 said. “I think Pete is a phenomenal, phenomenal public servant. And I think America is and would be ready for that. But when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go … Maybe I was being too cautious … Maybe I was. But that’s the decision I made.”
The former vice president did not rule out a candidacy for president in 2028 — but she didn’t rule it in either.
She said it was “not [her] focus right now.”
During the interview, Harris relied on her trusted topics, such as calling President Donald Trump a “tyrant.”
She also critized “feckless” corporate heads for not standing up for capitalism and democracy, per the outlet.
“It’s not like they’re going to lose their yacht or their house in the Hamptons,” she said.
The recent news of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returning to the airwaves was welcome.
Kimmel was suspended after he made comments about the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
“Talk about the power being with the people and the people making that clear with their checkbooks as it relates to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel,” Harris said. “We saw the power of the people over the last few days, and it spoke volumes, and it moved a decision in the right direction.”
The show started with Maddow pointing out how Harris was not so kind to fellow Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom she called her rival and friend.
“You mentioned Gavin earlier — by the way, Gavin has a great sense of humor,” Harris said. “He’s going to be fine.”
