Barack Obama tried to stop Kamala Harris from becoming the Democrats' presidential nominee in 2024, fearing she was not up to the task of beating Donald Trump, according to a new book.
Throughout her vice presidency, Harris had long been dismissed as an awkward and ineffective communicator.
Nevertheless, Democrats quickly rallied behind her after the seismic end of Joe Biden's re-election campaign last summer.
Jonathan Allen, co-author of the book FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, described how Obama scrambled to set up a "mini primary" to find a new candidate.
“He didn’t think that she was the best choice for Democrats, and he worked really behind the scenes for a long time to try to have a mini-primary, or an open convention, or a mini-primary leading to an open convention. [He] did not have faith in her ability to win the election,” Allen told MSNBC's Morning Joe.
According to Allen, Obama refused to endorse Harris in a phone conversation with her on the very day that Biden "passed the baton."
South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn (D), a political power broker who helped secure Biden's nomination in 2020, made a rushed endorsement of Harris after realizing Obama's plan.
“Obama had set up a call with Clyburn for like 5:30 that afternoon. And Clyburn thought to himself, this guy is going to try to rope me into the open convention thing, I better get my endorsement of Harris out there fast so this is a short conversation,” Allen said.
Rumors have long swirled about Obama's doubts concerning Biden's political talents. Obama famously snubbed his former running mate's presidential hopes in 2016 to support Hillary Clinton's doomed campaign. Lingering resentments were apparent in July 2024 as Biden, fighting for his political life, swiped at Democratic "elites" trying to force him aside.
Despite offering tepid support to Biden after his debate meltdown, Obama was said to be working against Biden behind the scenes. But Obama also seemed skeptical of Harris, who received his cautious endorsement nearly one week after Biden dropped out and immediately endorsed her. Obama initially seemed to favor an open primary process, rather than a coronation like the one Harris received.
"We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges," Obama said at the time.
Harris' defeat to President Trump has left Democrats adrift. Even Obama, the longtime spiritual leader of the party, appears less influential than ever before.
In the wake of Trump's historic re-election, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) all but admitted that Biden saddled the party with a weak candidate.
"The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary," Pelosi said. "And because the president endorsed Kamala Harris immediately, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time."
