Caribbean Roots Kamala Harris Breaks Silence In Tell-All New Book On Biden And 2024 Run

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Sept. 10, 2025: Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has broken her silence on one of the most consequential political decisions in modern American history, calling President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election bid an act of “recklessness.” In excerpts from her forthcoming memoir, 107 Days, published in The Atlantic today, Harris reflects candidly on the mistakes, missed opportunities, and strained loyalties that shaped her historic tenure as the first Black and first Caribbean American vice president of the United States.

FLASHBACK – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Vice President Kamala Harris during Thursday’s July 31, 2025 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)

Harris, the daughter of Jamaican economist Donald Harris and Indian-born cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, roots her political identity in the immigrant values of resilience, service, and justice. Her father’s Jamaican heritage and her mother’s South Asian background gave her a unique lens on the challenges of marginalized communities, something she has repeatedly described as central to her public life.

“Recklessness” and a Missed Opportunity

In the memoir, Harris writes that Democrats, herself included, made a grave mistake in allowing Biden to decide unchallenged that he would seek another term at the age of 81. While she never directly questioned his physical or mental fitness to serve, she said it became clear that “at 81, Joe got tired.” The signs of age, from verbal stumbles to visible exhaustion during grueling schedules, underscored her view that the stakes were too high to defer to “an individual’s ego” or ambition.

“During all those months of growing panic, should I have told Joe to consider not running? Perhaps,” Harris admits. “But the American people had chosen him before in the same matchup. Maybe he was right to believe they would do so again. In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

Her candor is striking given her loyalty throughout Biden’s presidency. Harris publicly defended him after his faltering debate performance against Donald Trump in 2024, insisting then that the president was up to the job. But her memoir paints a more complicated picture of private doubts, internal tensions, and frustration with Biden’s inner circle.

Undermined and Underestimated

Beyond the election question, Harris details how members of Biden’s team often failed to support her — and at times, actively undermined her. She recalls being sidelined in speeches, inadequately defended against conservative attacks on her competence, and denied effective backup in responding to media narratives about “chaos” within her office.

“Their thinking was zero-sum: if she’s shining, he’s dimmed,” Harris writes. “None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well. Given the concerns about his age, my visible success as his vice president was vital. It would serve as a testament to his judgment in choosing me and reassurance that if something happened, the country was in good hands.”

Despite these slights, Harris emphasizes her commitment to loyalty — to Biden, to the Democratic Party, and most importantly, to the country. Yet her tone is one of clear disappointment that the team around the president did not see her success as part of Biden’s legacy.

A Caribbean Voice in U.S. Politics

For many in the Caribbean diaspora, Harris’ rise to the vice presidency was proof of the region’s enduring impact on global politics even though she did little to celebrate that side of her heritage. In critiquing Biden’s re-election bid and recounting her challenges in office, Harris frames her honesty as a duty.

Looking Ahead

Harris’s memoir arrives as Democrats continue to assess how the 2024 loss reshaped the party and as she carves out her next chapter. By publicly admitting she regrets not challenging Biden’s decision to run, Harris strives to distinguish herself from many party leaders who remain hesitant to criticize him directly.

Her words also raise questions about how future leaders will handle the balance between loyalty and candor, particularly when the stakes are existential. 107 Days is set for release on September 23rd.