In Kamala Harris’s newly launched ebook “107 Days,” the previous vice chairman lists the effusive reactions of quite a few politicians to her cellphone calls looking for help for her 2024 presidential candidacy within the hours after President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
“Saddle up!” former President Barack Obama mentioned, in accordance with notes she made that day.
“Oh my God, I’m so relieved! Send me anywhere!” former President Invoice Clinton mentioned.
“Hiking. Will call back,” he mentioned in a textual content message.
He by no means did, Harris wrote.
However for 2 California Democrats, who might each have their eye on the identical political prize when the Democratic primaries for president roll round in 2028, may this be a slight indication of a burgeoning political and private rivalry? And if she is planning a 3rd run for the White Home, has she turned on allies in her evaluation of what went fallacious in her marketing campaign in opposition to Donald Trump final yr, blaming others at instances for her loss?
“This is a literary gas can that she’s lit,” Sonoma State Political Science Professor David McCuan mentioned. The ebook “has become basically this kind of tell-all, blow-up-the-bridge-behind-me. How you square that with running for president is somewhat beyond me.”
“I don’t think these are the types of people who do things without thinking through how they will be interpreted and the consequences,” Menlo Faculty Political Science Professor Melissa Michelson mentioned. “It could all be for show, right? It could also be that behind the scenes, they’re still just as close as ever, and this is all just meant for public consumption. Or it could be that there is actually a growing rift between the two of them that is now maybe inadvertently at play.”
“If you look at how the dance has gone, they both have wanted to lead,” McCuan mentioned. “But they both can’t be in that place. They have shared the same DNA, but these political cousins are not going to be breaking bread at Thanksgiving.”
The extreme scrutiny her ebook has obtained even earlier than its official publishing date “probably speaks to the fact that many people do see her still as a political figure with a future,” mentioned UC San Diego Political Science Professor Thad Kousser.
Though Harris has been acknowledged for her candor within the ebook, she additionally has ruffled feathers together with her feedback, as an illustration, that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was too bold to be second in command, and that working mate Tim Walz, whom she praised, was her second selection. Her first selection, she mentioned, was former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom she thought-about “too risky” to decide on, believing voters wouldn’t select a ticket with a Black girl and a homosexual man.
“She pulls no punches,” McCuan mentioned. “That’s not exactly a recipe for building a team or alliances moving forward.”
Would a deeply divided nation stoked up on Trump’s disparagement of all issues California even contemplate giving a candidate from the Golden State one other likelihood?
“Their brand names are as big as anyone in democratic politics,” Kousser mentioned. “But they each have huge vulnerabilities and the great likelihood is that Democrats, at the end of the day, will steer far clear of having a Californian lead them.”
Initially Printed: September 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM PDT
