Book Claims Obama Initially Opposed Harris Replacing Biden on 2024 Ticket, Advocated for Open Primary
A new book set to be released this month alleges that former President Barack Obama initially worked against former Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, as per Fox News.
According to author and reporter Jonathan Allen, Obama privately advocated for an open primary process, expressing doubts about Harris’s ability to win the election.
Allen, a senior politics reporter at NBC News, discussed the claims on MSNBC, citing sources close to Obama. He and co-author Amie Parnes, a senior political correspondent for The Hill, unveiled details from their upcoming book, “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.”
“President Obama absolutely did not think that Joe Biden should continue, according to our sources close to President Obama,” Allen stated. “And he also didn’t want Kamala Harris to be the replacement for Biden. 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, did not have faith in her ability to win the election.”
Allen also claims Obama was initially unwilling to endorse Harris immediately after Biden’s withdrawal. While both Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama eventually endorsed Harris, their support came five days after Biden himself endorsed his former Vice President.
The book further alleges that Obama’s efforts to influence the nomination process were met with resistance. Allen described a scenario where Obama attempted to contact Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, a key figure in Democratic politics, with Clyburn preemptively endorsing Harris to avoid being “roped into the open convention thing.”
Beyond the nomination process, the book also details tensions between Biden and Harris regarding loyalty and policy disagreements. According to an excerpt published by The Hill, Biden repeatedly urged Harris not to publicly break with his administration’s policies, even after he withdrew and endorsed her.
“To the extent that she wanted to forge her own path, Biden had no interest in giving her room to do so,” Allen and Parnes wrote, citing a phone call where Biden told Harris, “No daylight, kid.”
Harris ultimately faced criticism throughout her campaign for not distinguishing herself from Biden’s policies, stating at one point that she couldn’t think of anything she would have done differently during his first term.
