Kamala Harris says Biden’s choice to run for re-election was ‘reckless’ in new book excerpt
In an excerpt from her forthcoming book, 107 days, former vice-president Kamala Harris shares her struggles with the Biden administration on the rushed road to becoming the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
The section of her book, published in the Atlantic, she recalls the back-and-forth about Joe Biden’s capability to run for a second term.
“During all those months of growing panic, should I have told Joe to consider not running? Perhaps. But the American people had chosen him before in the same matchup,” she writes. “And of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out. I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run.”
Ultimately, Harris concludes that the former president’s decision to run again was “reckless”.
“The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision,” she says.
Harris, from her vantage point, tries to debunk any conspiracy theories that there was an institutional cover-up of Biden’s mental acuity. “I don’t believe it was incapacity. If I believed that, I would have said so,” she says. “As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country.”
Throughout the extract she lists her accomplishments both before her time at the White House and during her tenure as vice-president.
But, Harris notes that one of the biggest obstacles she faced was the unwillingness among the former president’s circle to standup for her: “Getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible.”
Key events
Ahead of the Federal Reserve’s board meeting next week, and following a federal judge’s ruling that Lisa Cook (the governor Donald Trump is seeking to oust from the board) can stay in her role while she challenges her firing, the president took to Truth Social today.
He once again demanded Fed chair Jerome Powell lower the interest rate “right now”.
“Powell is a total disaster, who doesn’t have a clue!!!,” Trump wrote.
Kira Lerner
In the 30 days since Donald Trump took control of Washington DC’s police department and deployed national guard troops, the city has seen the indiscriminate detention of immigrants, the rise of racial profiling and the arrests of large numbers of people for low-level crimes.
The US president claimed the takeover, which began on 11 August, was necessary because of violent crime in the country’s capital, especially after the attempted carjacking and assault of a former Doge staffer. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” he said during a news conference at the White House at the time.
But while Washington DC has long struggled with gun violence, its violent crime rate is at a 30-year low, much lower than that of cities in red states. And the large majority of people affected by the federal takeover are not perpetrators of violent crime.
Both groups targeted – immigrants and those accused of minor crimes – have been largely picked up by law enforcement through racial profiling and other tactics that experts say have instilled a climate of fear and a distrust of law enforcement.
A White House official said on Monday that 2,120 people have been arrested since the start of Trump’s takeover, 20 known gang members had been arrested and 214 firearms had been seized. While violent crime has decreased during this period, Washington residents say the impact has not been worth the overbearing law enforcement presence.
“Trump’s crackdown does not create safety, but its opposite,” said Scott Michelman, legal director for the ACLU of DC. “People are scared to go to their jobs, to drop off their kids at school, and to go about their daily lives because of the pervasive law enforcement and military presence that Trump has foisted on this city.”
Federal takeover of DC police set to expire today
Per my last post, today is the last day of Trump’s federal takeover of the DC police. On 11 August issued a “public safety emergency” and invoked section 740 of the Home Rule Act, which allows him to take control of the Metropolitan police department (MPD) for 30 days. To extend this period he would need congressional approval, something that lawmakers haven’t indicated is likely.
Last month, Trump said that violent crime in DC was “the worst it’s ever been”, despite data that shows the district experiencing a 30-year low. Now the president considers the district to be a “safe zone” now, and has frequently touted arrest numbers, misleading statistics, and anecdotes about how nation’s capital is “virtually crime free”.
Donald Trump has no public appearances today, per his White House schedule.
On Tuesday, he ventured outside the gates of his official residence to show the impact of his crackdown on crime in DC. “We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place – over the last 20 years – and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters.
He dined at a nearby restaurant, but was confronted by several protesters chanting: “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!”.
President Donald Trump had dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
His motorcade made the short distance to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city following weeks of the president boasting about mobilizing federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington “a safe zone.”
Cheers were heard as the president stepped from his limo – though there was also a smattering of boos and chants from protesters opposing US policy in support of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, AP reported.
“We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place – over the last 20 years – and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters.
He added that he wouldn’t have stood out “in the middle of the street” as recently as a couple of months ago. The suggestion was farcical, however, and didn’t actually reflect whether crime levels had changed in Washington, since the president is always surrounded by heavy security wherever he goes.
After entering the restaurant, a video posted on social media showed Trump shaking hands with some diners inside. But he also stared for an extended period at a small group of protesters who held up miniature Gaza flags and chanted: “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!”
The president moved closer to them and could be seen gesturing briefly, but didn’t appear to speak.
Suspect in stabbing of Ukrainian woman in North Carolina charged with federal crime
The justice department on Tuesday charged a man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina commuter train last month with a federal crime that could carry the death penalty.
The federal charge comes amid growing questions about why Decarlos Brown Jr was on the street despite 14 prior criminal arrests before he was accused of pulling out a knife and killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an apparently random attack captured on video.
The case has become latest flashpoint in the debate over whether cities such as Charlotte are adequately addressing violent crime, mental illness and transit safety. The Trump administration says the killing shows how local leaders, judges and policies in Democratic-led cities are failing to protect their residents from violent crime.
“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream – her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said in a statement. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence – he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
Zarutska had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to to the US to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life.
Trump says he is ‘not thrilled’ about Israeli strike on Qatar
Donald Trump said on Tuesday Israel’s decision to strike Qatar was made by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the Republican leader who added that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East. The strike was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could further escalate tensions in a region already on edge, Reuters reported.
Trump said he directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar the attack was coming but that it was too late to stop the strike. However, Qatar contradicted such claims from the White House, saying reports it got a heads-up before the attack were false and a phone call from a US official came when blasts were already being heard in the Qatari capital, Doha.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Hamas said five of its members were killed in the Israeli attack in Doha, including the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya.
Meanwhile, president Trump said on Tuesday his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India and that he would talk to prime minister Narendra Modi, in a sign of a reset after weeks of diplomatic friction.
Trump, in a marked shift of tone, said he looked forward to speaking to Modi in the “upcoming weeks” and expressed optimism that they could finalize a trade deal, Reuters reported.
“I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries,” he said in a post on social media.
Modi reciprocated the optimism in a social media post on Wednesday, saying Washington and New Delhi “are close friends and natural partners.”
He said teams from both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest.
“I am also looking forward to speaking with president Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people,” Modi said.
Trump considering restrictions on Chinese medicines, NYT reports
The US has been discussing severe restrictions on Chinese medicines, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a draft executive order.
It comes as Trump urged EU officials on Tuesday to hit China with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a US official and an EU diplomat.
Trump also encouraged the European Union to slap India with similarly expansive tariffs, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
China and India are major purchasers of Russian oil and, as such, they play a vital role in keeping Russia’s economy afloat as it continues to pursue its expanded invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
Trump made the request, which was conveyed via conference call, to EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan and other EU officials. The EU delegation is currently in Washington to discuss sanctions coordination.
