Former President Biden reportedly urged Vice President Kamala Harris against breaking from him on policies she supported as his vice president during her presidential run, according to a new book by reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes.
«He would say publicly that Harris should do what she must to win. But privately, including in conversations with her, he repeated an admonition: let there be no daylight between us,» the authors wrote.
Allen, a senior politics reporter at NBC News, and Parnes, a senior political correspondent for The Hill, wrote a book set to be published in April 2025 titled, «FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,» which is about the 2024 election. Parnes published an excerpt of the book in The Hill on Thursday.
«But the day of the debate Biden called to give Harris an unusual kind of pep talk — and another reminder about the loyalty he demanded. No longer able to defend his own record, he expected Harris to protect his legacy,» they wrote. «Whether she won or lost the election, he thought, she would only harm him by publicly distancing herself from him — especially during a debate that would be watched by millions of Americans. To the extent that she wanted to forge her own path, Biden had no interest in giving her room to do so.»
During the phone call, according to the authors, Biden told Harris, «No daylight, kid.»
Harris was criticized throughout her campaign for not breaking with the president on more issues after she took his spot at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist and Harris campaign aide, suggested «a list of all the items that made Harris proud of her work with Biden,» as they considered how to address her role within Biden’s administration ahead of Harris’ first interview as the Democratic candidate, the authors write.
«Wait, wait, wait!» Sean Clegg, a Harris advisor at the time, reportedly said during media prep for the interview, according to the book excerpt. «Let’s not do this. Let’s not go down memory lane.»
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«That was the last time he was invited to media prep. Cutter, another Harris confidant later joked, cut him out,» the authors wrote.
Representatives for Harris and Biden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Harris spoke to the co-hosts of «The View» in early October for a wide-ranging interview nearly a month out from Election Day. The interview was seen by many as a major turning point for her campaign, as she said she couldn’t think of anything she would have done differently from Biden during her time in office.
«If anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?,» «The View» co-host Sunny Hostin asked the former vice president.
Harris responded at the time, «There is not a thing that comes to mind.»
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