Latest news with #TheKamalaExcuse
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kamala Harris had profane message for governors uneasy about supporting Biden
Former Vice President Kamala Harris had a profane message for anxious Democratic governors uneasy about publicly supporting Joe Biden during the 2024 presidential campaign following his disastrous debate against current President Donald Trump, a new book reveals. "This is about saving our f–king democracy," Harris reportedly told the governors at a July 3, 2024, gathering at the White House after numerous officials expressed reservations about supporting Biden over concerns about his cognitive state. The comment is revealed in the upcoming book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, according to the New York Post. Biden's campaign was in freefall after the then-81-year-old president appeared tired and disoriented at the June 2024 presidential debate, his only debate against Trump. 'The Kamala Excuse': Tensions Between Biden And Harris Plagued Their Campaigns, New Book Reveals "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don't think he knows what he said either," Trump remarked at one point. Read On The Fox News App The June debate was held much earlier than presidential debates were traditionally held. According to the book, Biden's aides persuaded him to hold the early debate, claiming doing so would allow him to act from a position of strength. "By holding the first debate in the spring, YOU will be able to reach the widest audience possible, before we are deep in the summer months with the conventions, Olympics and family vacations taking precedence… In addition, 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," a campaign memo, published by Politico, reportedly said. Biden Made Harris Campaign A 'Nightmare,' Destroyed Her Chances By Staying In 2024 Race Too Long, Aides Charge Biden's performance created worries in the Democratic establishment that he would lose the election, and the 45th president began facing calls to drop out of the race. On July 10, 2024, the New York Times published an op-ed by the actor George Clooney urging Biden to exit the race. More Democratic politicians began to follow suit until Biden ultimately dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024. Harris succeeded him in the race, mounting a truncated roughly three-month-long campaign that ultimately failed. Harris' comments to the governors, made before Biden dropped out, were part of an effort to salvage his flailing candidacy. Following the meeting, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appeared in the White House driveway to voice their support for the president. Numerous high-profile Democratic governors, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer – all of whom were touted as possible replacements for Biden – did not appear to vouch for Biden in public. Walz was later tapped to be Harris' running mate when she stepped into the race. Hochul claimed that all of the governors "pledged our support" for Biden, however, according to the book that claim wasn't true and rankled the governors in attendance. "Many of the governors were deeply skeptical that Biden could continue his campaign, and they were furious with Hochul for suggesting otherwise," the book article source: Kamala Harris had profane message for governors uneasy about supporting Biden
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Intensely loyal' Jill Biden aide despised by White House staffers, new book claims
President Joe Biden's aides consider first lady Jill Biden one of the most powerful first ladies in history, according to the new book, "Original Sin," by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson. By proxy, the first lady's top aide, Anthony Bernal, became one of the most influential people in the White House, Tapper and Thompson said in their new book about Biden's cognitive decline and the administration's alleged cover-up. "He would not be welcome at my funeral," a longtime Biden aide told the authors. Operating in a White House anchored in loyalty, Bernal wielded loyalty as a weapon to weed out the defectors, Tapper and Thompson said. 'The Kamala Excuse': Tensions Between Biden And Harris Plagued Their Campaigns, New Book Reveals "He considered loyalty to be the defining virtue and would wield that word to elevate some and oust others – at times fairly and at times not. 'Are you a Biden person?' he would ask West Wing aides. 'Is so-and-so a Biden person?' The regular interrogations led some colleagues to dub him the leader of the 'loyalty police,'" the journalists wrote in "Original Sin." Read On The Fox News App New Book Reveals Biden's Inner Circle Worried About His Age Years Before Botched Debate Performance During the pandemic, Biden traded the campaign trail for lockdown. Two aides, Bernal and Annie Tomasini, found their way into Joe and Jill Biden's pod, shifting the power dynamic of Biden's so-called "Politiburo," the group of advisors who steered Biden's political orbit. Tapper and Thompson describe the "intensely loyal" duo as taking on an "older-brother-and-little-sister vibe." Thompson even had the title of deputy campaign manager, which Tapper and Thompson said was "unusual for a staffer to a spouse." The duo were the masterminds behind loading a teleprompter for Biden ahead of a local interview, a misstep that followed Biden's campaign. "The significance of Bernal and Tomasini is the degree to which their rise in the Biden White House signaled the success of people whose allegiance was to the Biden family – not to the presidency, not to the American people, not to the country, but to the Biden theology," the authors wrote. Tapper and Thompson said it was difficult to find many Bernal defenders and described him as using his power to cast out "potential heretics." As Bernal earned a reputation for trash-talking fellow aides, "some even described him as the worst person they had ever met," Tapper and Thompson said. Bernal and Tomasini took on some of the residence staffers' roles in the White House. Tapper and Thompson said the aides "had all-time access to the living quarters, with their White House badges reading 'Res' – uncommon for such aides." When the Biden campaign began gearing up for a re-election campaign and some voiced fears about his age or battleground state polling, Bernal and other senior staffers reacted dismissively about Vice President Kamala Harris launching a bid. Bernal is quoted in the book as having said, "You don't run for four years – you run for eight." "He had already begun planning the first lady's 2025 international travel schedule," Tapper and Thompson said. Bernal worked overtime to elevate Jill Biden's "profile and glamour," freely criticizing her looks and outfits and even calling her "Jill," according to the authors. Jill Biden and Bernal worked in tandem, keeping score of "who was with them and against them." The book described the first lady as "one of the chief supporters of the president's decision to run for reelection, and one of the chief deniers of his deterioration." Bernal's loyalty to the Bidens never faltered, and even after the disastrous debate performance in July 2024, Jill Biden and Bernal were determined to keep pushing on through November, Tapper and Thompson said. Fox News Digital has written extensively dating back to the 2020 presidential campaign about Biden's cognitive decline and his inner circle's role in covering it up. A former White House staffer fired back against Tapper and Thompson's allegations about Bernal in a statement to Fox News Digital. "A lot of vignettes in this book are either false, exaggerated, or purposefully omit viewpoints that don't fit the narrative they want to push. Anthony was a strong leader with high standards and a mentor to many. He's the type of person you want on a team - he's incredibly strategic, effective, and cares deeply about the people he manages," the former White House staffer article source: 'Intensely loyal' Jill Biden aide despised by White House staffers, new book claims
