Rachel Maddow grills Kamala Harris for saying she would've picked Pete Buttigieg as VP if he weren’t gay
WASHINGTON, DC: Rachel Maddow pressed former Vice President Kamala Harris over a controversial claim in her upcoming book, '107 Days', in which Harris wrote that she would have chosen Pete Buttigieg as her 2024 running mate if he weren’t gay.
Maddow, who is openly gay, appeared visibly uncomfortable with the remark and referenced Buttigieg’s own frustration, along with reactions from others. As she challenged Harris, Maddow struggled to frame the question directly but made clear the emotional weight behind it.
What did Kamala Harris say about Pete Buttigieg?
Harris shares a candid reflection about Pete Buttigieg in her upcoming memoir '107 Days.' In the book, she reveals that Buttigieg, “would have been an ideal partner, if I were a straight White man.”
She explains that choosing a gay running mate at the time would have been “asking a lot of America.” Harris writes, “But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man.”
“Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk,” she wrote. “And I think Pete also knew that – to our mutual sadness.”
Kamala Harris defends her statements in '107 Days'
Rachel Maddow pressed Kamala Harris on her remarks from '107 Days', saying, “I guess I'd ask you to just elaborate on that a little bit... it's hard to hear with you, the first woman elected vice president... to say that he couldn't be on the ticket effectively because he was gay, is hard to hear.”
Harris quickly pushed back, replying, “No, no, no, that's not what I said, that he couldn't be on the ticket because he is gay.”
She went on to clarify that her decision wasn’t based on prejudice, but rather on political timing. In a detailed response, Harris explained the high-pressure context of the election and her concern over how Donald Trump might exploit their identities.
“My point is, as I write in the book,” she said, “is that I was clear that in 107 days, in one of the most hotly contested elections for president against someone like Trump, who knows no floor... To be a Black woman running for president, and as a vice presidential running mate, a gay man. With the stakes being so high, it made me very sad. But I also realized it would be a real risk.”
Kamala Harris expresses her long-standing support for LGBTQ+ rights
Harris went on to defend her long-standing support for LGBTQ+ rights, telling Maddow, “You know, I've been an advocate and an ally of the LGBT community my entire life.” Maddow nodded in acknowledgment, seemingly indicating that she wasn’t questioning Harris’s allyship.
Harris then reiterated that her decision wasn’t rooted in bias, but rather in the limited time and high stakes of the campaign. She said, “So it wasn't about any prejudice on my part, but we had such a short we had such a short period of time. And the stakes were so high.”
She praised Buttigieg as a “phenomenal public servant” and admitted that she may have erred on the side of caution. “But when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go — and maybe I was being too cautious…we should all talk about that. Maybe I was, but that's the decision I made,” she said, adding that the choice brought her “a great deal of sadness,” especially given the risk involved.
