Kamala Harris 'declined' to call Congressional Dems for Biden after disastrous debate, book reveals

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly declined to make calls to Democratic members of Congress to rally support for then-President Joe Biden following his disastrous June 2024 debate performance, fearing it could appear she was maneuvering to replace him.

The claim comes from 'Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America', an upcoming book by ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl.

In an excerpt published on Friday, October 24, by The Dispatch, Karl describes the internal panic that gripped the Democratic Party after Biden’s faltering debate against Donald Trump, as many within the party began urging the 82-year-old to drop out of the race. According to Karl, “the effort to secure the nomination for Harris had already begun,” though not by Harris herself.

Kamala Harris was looking out for self-interest amid calls for Biden to step aside

Jonathan Karl writes that veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and former South Carolina state legislator Bakari Sellers “began calling state party leaders and essentially every influential Black leader in the party” in July 2024, as the calls for Joe Biden to withdraw intensified. 

“Brazile’s message to voting delegates was direct, ‘You need to stand with Biden as long as he’s in the race. But if he drops out, we all need to unite behind Kamala Harris,’” the journalist writes. 

The excerpt adds, “Although she was the obvious heir apparent, Harris had not so much as hinted, publicly or privately that Biden should drop out of the race as calls for him to do so grew louder.” Karl notes that Harris made that decision “out of loyalty to the president, sure, but also out of self-interest.”

Kamala Harris feared lobbying Democrats could appear as a power move

As the Biden campaign scrambled to contain fallout from the debate, leadership reportedly asked Kamala Harris to call Democratic lawmakers to help calm concerns. According to two aides cited by Karl, Harris “declined.”

“Harris believed such calls could be misinterpreted as the early stages of an effort to secure the nomination for herself,” the book claims. “If she called Democratic members, those members could later disclose that they had spoken to her and misrepresent the purpose of the call.”

Karl adds that Harris and her advisors recognized that if Biden ended his campaign, his endorsement would likely decide whether she would be “coronated” as the nominee or forced into a contentious floor fight at the Democratic National Convention. For that reason, Harris reportedly kept her “head down,” choosing to remain loyal yet reserved during what Karl describes as “those fateful three weeks in July.”

Book sheds light on chaos inside the Democratic Party

The excerpt paints a picture of chaos within the Democratic ranks as high-level operatives scrambled to navigate the political fallout of Biden’s widely panned debate performance. Party leaders reportedly held private discussions about contingency plans while publicly maintaining support for Biden.

“Harris did not join the chorus of Democratic voices questioning Biden’s faculties, but she was not proactively defending him, either,” Karl writes, portraying a tense balancing act within the highest levels of the administration.

Karl’s upcoming book, 'Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America', set to be released on October 28, explores the behind-the-scenes turmoil within both parties during the 2024 election, including what he calls “the most chaotic summer in modern Democratic politics.”