Latest news with #BidenCampaign
Fox News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
New book sheds light on Harris decision to pick Walz as her running mate over Shapiro: 'Went with her gut'
A new book on the end of Joe Biden's presidential campaign and the birth of Kamala Harris' sheds light on the process behind the vice president choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a decision widely panned by pundits in retrospect. "2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America," released Tuesday by journalists Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times and Isaac Arnsdor of The Washington Post, described a vetting process that came down to three finalists: Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. All three candidates did a final interview with Harris at her residence, the book explains, adding that when asked what they wanted to drink, Shapiro and Kelly chose water while Walz chose Diet Mountain Dew. Appeal with rural voters was a top priority for the Harris ticket and the book states that Harris's advisors felt that Walz was the best candidate to do that. "Pelosi privately pushed for him too, because she'd worked with him in Congress," the book said about the former House speaker. "The pitch for Walz was straightforward: He could appeal to white voters across the Blue Wall states (Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania) and hopefully help Harris with male voters. He'd never lost election." While most political experts felt Shapiro, governor of a key swing state, was the most logical choice, the book states that the interview with Harris and Shapiro "revealed the two were not a perfect match." "He came across as overly ambitious, pushing Harris to define what his role would be. He also conceded it would not be natural for him to serve as someone's number two, leaving Harris with a bad impression," the book states. Conversely, the authors explain that Walz was "deferential" while "showing no interest in himself" and "flatly denied any interest in running for president." "He went so far as to proactively volunteer reasons why she might not want to pick him," the book says. "In his interview that Friday, he said he had never used a teleprompter before. On Sunday, he told Harris, 'I would understand if you went with someone else because I'm really nervous about the debate, and I don't think I'll do well.' Still, the vetting team did not fully appreciate his tendency to misspeak, his folksiness sometimes tipping into factual imprecision." Walz would ultimately draw intense scrutiny on the campaign trail for his "folksiness" with a series of blunders, including his characterization of his military service and a claim he was present at the Tiananmen Square massacre. The book says Harris "struggled" deciding between Shapiro and Walz, believing that she had a better "rapport" with Walz but understood the importance of Pennsylvania. Harris' team, according to the book, told her that polling did not offer a clear answer as to which of the two candidates would help the ticket more. "There was no empirical evidence that Shapiro would deliver Pennsylvania and with it the White House," the book said. As Shapiro was being considered, many pundits speculated that his staunch support of Israel could be an issue given the progressive wing of the Democratic Party being vocally pro-Palestinian, resulting in protests, sometimes violent, across the country after Oct. 7. The book said the Harris campaign was aware of that issue. "Much of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party declared war on Shapiro, largely because of his support of Israel," the book said. "Some Shapiro allies saw the criticism as deeply unfair and borderline antisemitic, since the governor was an observant Jew, but his positions on the Palestinian conflict broadly aligned with the Biden administration and the other vice presidential contenders. The lawyers vetting Shapiro did flag some comments they viewed as more incendiary, particularly as it related to pro- Palestinian protests on college campuses after the October 7 attacks." "One that caught their attention was his commentary on CNN from April: 'We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this, if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia, making comments about people who are African American in our communities.'" Ultimately, the book says Harris "went with her gut" and chose Walz believing he was the "better fit" in a decision her staff was "unanimously behind." Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Walz and Shapiro for comment. After losing every battleground state and ultimately the presidency to Donald Trump, critics were quick to judge the Walz pick as a misstep by Harris. "The choice of Walz was only one of many disastrous mistakes but symptomatic of one larger problem – the Democratic Party leadership is too scared to say no to the hard-left progressive wing of the party," Julian Epstein, longtime Democratic operative and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital shortly after the election. Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital in November that Harris picking Walz "proved to be a disastrous decision that doomed Kamala Harris from the moment she made it." "Not only was Walz ill-prepared for the national spotlight and media scrutiny, but Harris passed over several better options," Bluey said. "Given how little Americans knew about Harris or her policy positions, they were right to question her judgment on this big decision."
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Obama warned Biden aides his presidential campaign was a ‘mess'
Barack Obama warned Joe Biden's senior staff 'your campaign is a mess' a year before the 2024 presidential election, according to a new book. Tensions between the two former US presidents intensified as the latter's campaign progressed, with Mr Obama reportedly telling allies that Mr Biden should seriously reconsider his decision to run again, following his disastrous debate against Donald Trump. Mr Obama is said to have also raised concerns over his former vice-president's strategy seven months before the Atlanta debate. Mr Biden was persuaded to drop out of the race just a few weeks after the debate, officially stepping aside in July 2024. The previous year, Mr Obama, 63, had lunch with Mr Biden at the White House to celebrate his 81st birthday. During the meeting, Mr Obama claimed that splitting the campaign leadership between Delaware and Washington would not work, according to How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf. 'After the lunch, Obama did not leave the White House right away,' the book reads. It adds: 'He stopped to visit with Biden's senior staff, many of whom used to work for him, and shared his account of what he and Biden had discussed. Obama was more blunt with the staff. 'Your campaign is a mess,' he told them.' Mr Biden's staff in Delaware were also said to be 'despondent' after the former president heard concerns from Democrats that his campaign did not have a presence in their districts, with Mr Biden telling one aide: 'I have a leadership problem on the campaign.' The former Democrat leader in January told, Jen O'Malley Dillon, the White House deputy chief of staff at the time, to fix the campaign. 'Biden inner circle resented Obama' According to the book, some of Mr Biden's inner circle resented Mr Obama, with some aides reportedly rolling their eyes after Mr Obama said he had 'won a couple of these' elections in fundraising videos filmed for the campaign in 2023. The book, which was released on Monday, adds: 'There was a lot of overlap among aides to Obama and Biden, but to Biden loyalists, Obama was a p—k. They thought he and his inner circle had constantly disrespected and mistreated Biden, despite his loyal service as vice-president.' Mr Biden was also urged to take part in the disastrous early debate against Mr Trump by his aides, according to a memo obtained by the book's authors. 'The earlier you are able to debate the better, so that the American people can see you standing next to Trump and showing the strength of your leadership, compared to Trump's weakness and chaos,' the senior advisers wrote in an April 15 memo published by Politico. It said: 'After further discussion, your senior advisers... continue to believe it is important to move forward with a plan that supports your participation in debates as early as possible.' The memo added: 'Your senior advisers think strategically holding these debates in the fall, after many of the battleground states have already begun their early voting process and voter registration deadlines have passed is too late.' The June 27 debate proved to be a train wreck. In the 90-minute debate Mr Biden lost his train of thought and appeared frail, renewing calls for him to step down. Mr Biden ended his re-election campaign weeks later, paving the way for Kamala Harris to replace him. The claims somewhat contradict those made in Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which claimed that Mr Biden's inner circle shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president. Mr Biden said the allegations in the book were 'wrong' and that 'there's nothing to sustain' them. The latest book also claims that when Mr Biden called Mr Trump to congratulate him on his success, the Republican leader, who had spent years attacking his political rival, said: 'In another life... we would be friends and go golfing.'
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Israeli ambassador says staffers slain in DC were about to be engaged
All times eastern Making Money with Charles Payne FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: 'The Will Cain Show' on Biden camp allegedly creating own 'cheap fakes'
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Reckoning Over Joe Biden's Health
Over the past few days, the health of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been called into focus with the disclosure that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. At the same time, Democrats are undertaking a painful re-examination of what went wrong with Joe Biden's campaign for re-election, and the Trump White House has released embarrassing audio of Biden being interviewed. The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Reid J. Epstein, Lisa Lerer and Tyler Pager sit down to make sense of it all.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
ART OF THE SURGE: Behind the scenes on President Trump's road back to White House
From former President Joe Biden's sudden end to his re-election campaign to the rise of former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presidential election was a tumultuous time in American politics that had no shortage of drama. Emerging victorious from that unforgettable presidential race was President Donald Trump — and now Fox Nation subscribers can access behind-the-scenes content from his journey to becoming the 47th President of the United MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY: HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED? 'The Art of the Surge: The Donald Trump Comeback' is a six-part docuseries streaming on Fox Nation that takes viewers through Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. In the first episode, titled 'We'll Make It Happen,' the show examines the lead-up to his CNN debate with Biden in Atlanta, GA. One month following his disastrous debate performance against Trump, President Biden announced that he would suspend his 2024 re-election campaign amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party. The unprecedented announcement prompted Biden to quickly offer his "full support and endorsement" for Vice President Kamala Harris to take over as the party's presidential nominee. The show's second episode turns down a darker path, covering suspect Thomas Matthew Crook's assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, PA. The tagline of the episode disclaims that the footage shown is 'the closest anyone will ever get' to comprehending what occurred on that fateful day in July 2024. The episode chronicles from when shots were fired to the aftermath of attendees grappling with the horrific ordeal. The Butler community's tribute to Corey Comperatore, who was killed by the ensuing gunfire, is also emotionally captured in the episode — giving viewers a somber look into the impact of the incident. The remaining four episodes detail Trump's other major campaign headlines, from his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border and his debate with VP-turned-presidential-candidate Kamala Harris to his triumphant return to Butler. All six episodes are available to stream now, allowing subscribers to access this stunning view of Trump's successful 2024 presidential campaign. Fox Nation programs are viewable on-demand and from your mobile device app, but only for Fox Nation subscribers. Go to Fox Nation to start a free trial and watch the extensive library from your favorite Fox Nation personalities.
