Kamala Harris Reflects on Not Urging Biden to Withdraw from 2024 Race

Mon Oct 27 2025 08:36:07 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a candid BBC interview, Kamala Harris reveals her regrets about not discussing President Biden's re-election bid, questioning the consequences of her silence.

During a recent interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Kamala Harris expressed her concern over not advising President Biden against running for re-election, particularly given his recent performance during the campaign. Reflecting on her tenure as Vice President, she shared her thoughts in her book '107 Days', contemplating whether her silence was due to grace or recklessness. Harris noted the physical and emotional toll of campaigning, and emphasized the importance of discussing such critical matters within Biden's inner circle.

Former US Vice-President Kamala Harris has expressed concern that she didn't ask Joe Biden to pull out of the race for the White House.

In an interview with the BBC for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she said: I do reflect on whether I should have had a conversation with him, urging him not to run for re-election.

After months of speculation about his health and mental acuity, President Biden ended his re-election bid in July 2024 after a disastrous performance in a debate against Donald Trump a few weeks earlier.

Harris, who stepped in as the Democratic nominee but lost to Trump, revealed in her book about her three-month campaign that she did not discuss with President Biden her concerns over his ability. Nor did the then 81-year-old raise the issue with her.

In the book, 107 Days, the former vice-president wrote that Biden's decision to run again was a choice that shouldn't have been left to an individual's ego, an individual's ambition. She wrote that perhaps she should have raised it with him.

In this interview, she told the BBC that she still ponders whether she should have acted differently and talked to him about it.

I do reflect on whether I should have had a conversation with him, urging him not to run. She said, my concern, especially on reflection is, should I have actually raised it. She questioned whether it was grace or recklessness that stopped her from speaking up.

Her worry, she added, was not Biden's capacity to do the job of commander in chief but about whether he would meet the demands of a gruelling election campaign to stay in the White House.

When pressed on the distinction, she explained there is a serious difference between running for office and conducting the duties of being president. Running against Trump, she said, is even more demanding.

Harris stated she had concerns about Biden's ability to endure the campaign, emphasizing the energy required to compete effectively.

She admitted it was difficult to voice her concerns as she risked being perceived as promoting her own political interests if she confronted Biden about his health.

The issue of whether more people in Biden's circle could have challenged him about the wisdom of running again has become a major talking point, with speculation surrounding the transparency of his health issues.

Biden's aides, however, have pushed back against allegations that his physical changes signified any mental incapacity affecting his ability to perform presidential duties.

In his first interview after leaving the White House, Biden stated it would not have mattered if he had left the race earlier.

Harris, while promoting her new book, indicated that she is not done with public service, leaving open the possibility of running for the presidency again in the future.