"Diary Of A CEO": Kamala Harris Reveals When She Noticed 'Something Was a Little Off' with Joe Biden In 2024 Campaign

From people.com

• Kamala Harris appeared on the Oct. 30 episode of Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO podcast to discuss the 2024 presidential election and her relationship with former President Joe Biden
• Harris said that at one point during his campaign, she noticed "something was a little off"
• The former vice president recently said that she has not ruled out a future White House bid despite losing to Trump in 2024 after stepping in for Biden

Kamala Harris is looking back at President Joe Biden's ill-fated 2024 campaign and sharing a red flag she spotted months before Americans cast their ballots.

The former vice president, 61, appeared on Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO podcast on Thursday, Oct. 30, where she reflected on Biden's bid for re-election and her relationship with the former president, 82.

The Diary Of A CEO/YouTube; Brandon Bell/Getty

The former vice president zeroed in on one infamous moment from Biden's campaign: his June 2024 debate against President Donald Trump, during which Biden seemed feeble and forgetful, frequently stumbling over his words. Harris revealed to Bartlett that even before the debate, she had a sense something wasn't right with the former president.

"He called me from debate camp ... and I could tell something was a little off," Harris said. "And I was concerned about— I just, I don't think he wanted to debate, is my point."

She continued, "He didn't want that debate. And you know, it's like any competition you go in, whether it's you're bidding for something, if it's sports, you gotta want it, right? If you don't wanna be in the competition, it will absolutely have an impact on your performance. I'm pretty sure he did not want to debate."

When Bartlett asked her how she knew, Harris replied, "Well, we had conversations about it. I think he got talked into it."

Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump during their June 27, 2024 presidential debate.

Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty; ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

Harris said she had been watching the debate that night with a small team in Los Angeles so she could "be candid" in her reaction. She knew "there is no such thing as a perfect debate," noting that it's inevitable for candidates to misspeak.

"There will be something to clean up, and I expected that," she said. "And then, you know, we saw what we all saw."

Harris recently published a memoir titled 107 Days, which details the 2024 election and her history-making run for president. While promoting the book in an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow last month, Harris said she was worried it would seem "self-serving" of her to advise Biden not to seek reelection.

Maddow asked Harris about a passage in her book alleging that everyone in the Biden administration believed Biden and then-first lady Jill Biden should be the ones to decide if he should run or not.

"We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized," Harris wrote. "Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness."

While speaking with Maddow, Harris said she realized, "I have and had a certain responsibility that I should've followed through on."

"When I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I'm talking about myself," she added. "There was so much, as we know, at stake. And as I write, you know, where my head was at, at the time, it would be completely... it would come off as completely self-serving."

When Maddow asked Harris if she meant it would've been seen as "self-serving" for her to tell Biden not to run again, Harris said, "Yeah. Or even if he should question whether it's a good idea."

When Biden dropped out of the race in July 2024, Harris picked up his torch and secured the Democratic nomination. While she ultimately lost the election to Trump, she recently said she would be open to running for president again.

Appearing on the BBC program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg earlier this month, Harris said her grandnieces would "in their lifetime, for sure," see a woman be elected president. When asked if it would be her, Harris responded, "Possibly."

"I am not done," she said, adding, "I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it's in my bones."

https://people.com/kamala-harris-reveals-moment-noticed-something-off-with-biden-11840200