Kamala Harris’s book, 107 Days, came out this week. Various outlets published advanced excerpts, including The Atlantic – go here to read. I’ll admit that I have not sat down and read much from the book yet. I felt the same way in 2017 when Hillary Clinton published her first book after the 2016 election – it simply felt too raw and I didn’t have enough emotional distance from what happened in that election to read Hillary’s recollections. It’s the exact same feeling with Kamala’s book, I was watching it unfold in real time, I know exactly how badly she got screwed over, and I know exactly how badly Americans f–ked up by not electing Kamala president.
While I’m not consuming much from Kamala’s book, I 100% support her right to talk about all of it, from how Joe Biden’s staff treated her, to how she felt forced to dim her shine in service to President Biden, to how tough it was to run a national campaign in that short amount of time. We’re more than three years out from the next presidential election, if we’re even having those anymore. Now is actually the time for Kamala to tell her story. I genuinely hope the book prompts some self-reflection from the Obama bros in particular, as well as Biden’s senior staffers. Win or lose, Kamala’s candidacy should have been a major housecleaning moment for the Democratic party, but it doesn’t sound like any of that is actually happening. Not when some Democrats can run to Politico to bitch about how Kamala’s book is distracting from… something??
Kamala Harris’ media blitz is doing little to temper the frustration bubbling among Democrats over her retelling of the 2024 election. Over the last 24 hours, the former vice president insisted she isn’t burning bridges in her own party, rejected the idea that her infamous interview on “The View” tipped the 2024 election and didn’t rule out another run for political office.
“In an era where Democrats need all hands on deck in the fight to protect the country and the constitution from the lawlessness of the Trump administration, she had a real opportunity to be a critical voice in the resistance,” said Michael Hardaway, a Democratic strategist who served as a senior adviser to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “This book seems to be unhelpful and divisive in a way that makes it hard for her to be the face of the party as we look to the future.”
More than six months after her losing election — and with Harris now back in the spotlight — her book, “107 Days,” has reopened wounds in a party still divided over who or what is primarily to blame for their sweeping losses and President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Harris, for her part, argued on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday that though “there were many factors,” ultimately, “we just didn’t have enough time.”
It’s not the first time a political memoir has prompted eyerolls. Hillary Clinton’s book tour in 2017 triggered a collective groan among infuriated Democrats, including one top donor who told POLITICO at the time “she should just zip it.” Biden, struggling to sell his post-presidency legacy, is expected to release his own White House memoir. Democrats privately worry the parade of scab-picking, backward-looking books isn’t helping the party move on, especially as its brand sinks to new lows in public polling.
“At a time when people are looking for a vision and leadership … and want to see leaders rise to the level of threat facing the country, it’s pretty crazy she chose to write a gossip book that prioritizes the pettiness of her politics,” said an adviser to a potential 2028 candidate granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. “It’s embarrassing for her, and for all Democrats, considering she was the leader of the party less than a year ago.”
“…Has reopened wounds in a party still divided over who or what is primarily to blame for their sweeping losses…” The wounds weren’t closed, therefore Kamala isn’t “reopening” anything. Democrats were and are still bleeding, and I see Kamala’s book as a sort of political triage, and a necessary one at that. It’s wild to argue that Democrats are still fighting over the last election, and that’s why the literal Democratic presidential candidate shouldn’t put her two cents in about what went wrong and what Democrats could do better. Kamala understands that you have to actually assign blame to begin to figure out what went wrong – from what I’ve seen, she addresses some mistakes she made, and some of the mistakes the Biden administration made in how they used her. But she’s also just… telling the truth about a stagnated and outdated Democratic political class which is also to blame.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Washington, DC – United States Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic Party nominee for President of the US, speaks about recent statements from John Kelly, former President Trump’s chief of staff, that Trump would rule like a ‘fascist,’ from Harris’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. Polls show a tightening presidential race between her and Republican former President Donald Trump. Pictured: Harris BACKGRID USA 23 OCTOBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC – United States Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic Party nominee for President of the US, makes her closing argument to voters from the Ellipse in Washington, DC. The Vice President made her remarks one week before Election Day. Pictured: Kamala Harris BACKGRID USA 29 OCTOBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC – United States Vice President Kamala Harris departs after visiting Bold Fork Books in Washington, DC. Pictured: Kamala Harris BACKGRID USA 30 NOVEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC – United States Vice President Kamala Harris addresses her staff and the media as she takes part in a ceremonial desk signing at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Thursday January 16, 2025 in Washington DC. Vice President Kamala Harris takes part in a ceremony that has been observed since the Ford administration but actually dates back to the 1940s. The desk also contains signatures of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson. Pictured: Harris BACKGRID USA 16 JANUARY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Altadena, CA – Kamala Harris visits Firehouse 12 in Altadena, praising firefighters and offering heartfelt gratitude during her first trip to California since the recent LA wildfires. Pictured: Kamala Harris BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Paparazzi Papi / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
They’re big mad and it isn’t just Politico. The general talk is she’s torpedoed any chance of going back into politics, blah, blah, blah, like we haven’t heard that before. From what I’ve seen so far, it doesn’t seem like she’s saying anything that wasn’t already known or suspected. But it’s one of those loyalty things – like “how dare you point out our problems when we’re all running around trying to figure out our problems.”
I am so sick of the YT MALE political class assigning intention from her. I have the book on my night stand and I plan on reading this weekend. My initial read of her interviews and body language is that she’s done being a political candidate. She’ll still stay active but likely from outside the system/party. It’s very interesting that the Pro Palestine groups, hardcore leftists, and establishment Democrats are still targeting her. Let her have her truth. She’s saying it. Trash people like Chris Cillizza and unnamed sources in Politico have all these takes that, IMO, inaccurate. The racism and misogyny is playing out real time, and its clearly a hurdle she couldn’t climb over. There are so many people that are willfully ignorant of the realities of who USA is. Let her get her coins and enter her lived experience for the record.
Exactly. “She should just zip it” from some big Dem donor only tells me that the Dems In Power continue to hate women just as much as the MAGA right does, that they are unwilling to learn from their mistakes or change their tactics, and instead just want to blame women and BIPOC folks.
If the problem with this memoir is, as the article suggests, that it’s all hands on deck to fight facism, then please show me more Dems fighting facism as evidence. Because right now I think we can all name the mere handful of powerful Dems putting their necks on the line to fight the fight, while establishment Dems just keep playing stupid loyalty games.
If Harris wants to burn it down with this book (though I don’t actually think she does), go for it. We need a clean slate and a fresh start. If things don’t change dramatically and quickly, democracy is over.
It’s sure as heck not time to “zip it” and play nice.
@DK,
The “zip it” comment was not said about Harris, it was in regards to Clinton after her book. I’m glad Harris is telling her story, it’s always interesting to see what folks have to say. And I agree with her that time was the biggest issue. I also agree with her statements about it being a huge mistake not to say more about how Joe shouldn’t have run again and her not saying something when she knew she should have. That was reported last week. Along with her first choice as VP being Pete.
Good Grief! Why is it that “Pro Palestine groups, hardcore leftists, and establishment Democrats are still targeting her?” Why not target tRump and the tRumpublican party? Nobody’s ever going to win friends and influence people as long as they’re viciously attacking their most likely allies. I’m also sick of Democrats imposing their self-inflicted purity tests on their own people – I remember even on this forum, people whining about Joe pardoning his son Hunter, when it was obvious Hunter was being held to a much higher standard by R-wing witch hunt, and vulnerable to possible incoming Kash Patel. As for people whining about Joe staying in the race – I think Joe understands the inherent misogyny and racism in this country way better than most ppl, plus he’d beat tRump before.
As far as I can tell, Democrats learned nothing from 2024 or Trump’s first term. Their fecklessness is exhausting and heartbreaking at the same time. Our nation is sliding into an autocracy and all the Democrats do is ask me to chip in five bucks.
It’s her story, let her tell it. Freedom of speech!
Jimmy Kimmel has freedom of speech. Apparently, Kamala Harris doesn’t. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh please, She obviously has freedom of speech, she wrote and had published a book and is going on a book tour with interviews on major tv programs. She isn’t being denied any platform for her telling her story. Criticism, however much unwarranted, is not the same as cancelling a persons job due to government interference. And I’d point out, Free Speech as defined in American Law, is speech that is not relegated by, or infringed upon by government action. Kimmel situation was due to official government interference, ie Brendan Carr head of the FCC a government entity that controls the airwaves. People complaining about something isn’t a free speech issue. I voted for her, and I’d vote for her again, but a Free Speech issue this ain’t.
I’m talking about the people (and there are many) who say she shouldn’t have written this book. Sarcasm obviously. 😏
This Democrat is not mad about the book or tour. I just started the book and it’s crazy how some are mischaracterizing it. Yes, she is candid, but she’s also making herself vulnerable in ways I never expected. And, yes, the actual candidate gets to have her say in what happened and why. The freak out over this gives me new insight into the ugly tendency of white people to silence and erase the voices of Black women. The Democratic party needs to reckon with this before it does anything else because they just want Black women to do the work and stay in the background even though they are the base of the party. With Kamala, the party hacks also know she is still a powerhouse and they want to put her in her place.
Kamala Harris and her book is not the problem. Please.
When i heard Kamala Harris was releasing a book I so hoped it would be a strong manifesto entailing a confident plan to lead the democratic party forward. Honestly, idk why I let myself believe this would be anything more than a useless cash grab from a very rich and still very powerful politician.
I wish she was in charge but outside the team-player DNC types I can’t see how this would be viewed as anything other than another wasted opportunity.
What are you going on about? Have you read the book or are you just going by clickbait headlines?
MVP Harris has the right to share her experiences, you wanting to silence her because you don’t like how it MAY seem is typical oppression of Black women.
Memoirs are a valuable part of the historical record.
Also, let a woman grab some cash!
Harris isn’t the leader of the party. She lost. And she’s allowed to be done with politics now. If you’d like to see more change, get organized and run for office. Give up decades of your life. Be threatened with violence. Then judge.
Tuesday, 100,000%. Perfect.
@Laulau couldn’t agree with you more. i was hoping for an interesting way forward – a vision to rally behind. the postmortem is boring and from a candidate that actively spent half the campaign trying to court voters from the other party, it seems lacking in depth. i very much believed in her (supported her even in the 2020 primary) but this slinking away only to emerge with a book and appearing on the view. that is not the leader for this time. that is same old same old. so disappointed.
Lol! The whole afterword is an outline for the next steps. And on The View and other interviews, she has said our message needs to be around policies that address the immediate needs of families. She even said she wishes the Biden-Harris administration had held off on infrastructure and done Build Back Better first because that was where the expanded child tax credit and Family Leave were. By the time they got to that, they didn’t have the votes. As for a cash grab, she has every right to make as much money as she can. And she needs it to pay her staff and for the best private security. Why do people object to Black people making money because we heard the same complaints about the Obamas? 🤔
Let me just add that the whole narrative we sometimes hear that “I supported and voted for her, therefore she must do whatever I demand of her even when she’s a private citizen” is complete bull sh*t. When you vote for someone, that does not make them your slave for life.
She didn’t slink away. She lost an election and was out of a job. She has a real story to tell. First female vice- president. First black vice-president. Thrust into the presidential race at the last second (who’s ever done that?). So much to say.
I wish her book would shake things up, but I doubt it. Every time I see Chuck Schumur address reporters with the reading glasses slung over his face, I want to scream.
I can’t believe that the Democrats aren’t offering new leadership. It’s like they’re not even in Congress. The only opposition is coming from groups organized on the Internet, like no kings. Otherwise, the Dems act like stunned rabbits. Trump is not going away.
There have been some very sus comments on here the past couple of days from folks who don’t sound like they’ve ever been on this website before…
How dare a woman talk about her own life and experiences! Doesn’t she know she should shut up so the democrat men can do nothing?!?!
This is so unsurprising and yet so upsetting.
The Democratic men are doing their best to shut her up, but she won’t let them. They are very pissed that unlike Gore and Hillary, she is sticking around for the fight. Still for The People.
Hillary also wrote a book. She does speak out all the time. She just blasted RJF Jr. for his “outlandish ideas,” which she said could get children killed.
Harris thanks Bill and Hillary in her book for being early supporters of her campaign.
I have tickets to see her when she comes to London next month and I’m so looking forward to hearing her perspective.
I was at the O2 arena last night to a sold out ‘evening with Barack Obama’. It was a masterclass in analytical reflection on among other things, the state of the world today, the impact and dangers of AI. He gave a shoutout to London’s mayor Sadiq khan, who’s been a target of the Drump for some years. khan was in the audience and got a sustained round of applause.
Hi Roseberry where is this taking place, i have my copy of the book and would love to hear her in person. also shame i missed Obama
She is at the Royal Festival Hall- Southbank on the23rd October
I had no idea this was a thing, thanks for the heads up.
I’m one of the 92%…and I’ve been so utterly disappointed with The Democratic Party and their lack of collective resistance to the erosion of our democracy. Them attacking Kamala is not helping them keep my already waning support.
What a disgusting Politico article. Her “retelling” of the election? She is telling us what happened. As usual, it’s the “don’t believe women” misogynistic bullshit.
If I responded the way I want to…I would be banned from this site…😮Which is …I am SURE…EXACTLY HOW KAMALA HARRIS FELT WHILE WRITING THAT BOOK & NOT DRAGGING THE WEAK AF BIGOTED AS HELL DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR ABSOLUTE UTTER FILTH! 😡
Love that Dems are mad that she told the truth that we all could see. We knew that Pelosi and Obama had gotten together with tons of Senators and House reps to oust Biden. Didn’t want her. And though Biden pushed for her, he was upset that he was in essence brushed aside by her people (all Obama people). I honestly think she got terrible advice from her brother in law too.
My take has been that Biden never should have run for a second term at all and there should have been an open primary to drum up excitement, and either Harris would have been the nominee, or more likely wouldn’t have been. But the democrats need to absolutely clean house of all these fuckass career insiders who maintain this disgusting system of seniority and patronage.
I’m so fed up with all these egotistical octogenarian boomers who refuse to let go. Bidens potential legacy for greatness is in the trash heap of history right next to RBG’s because their refusal to let go when they needed to contributed to the complete destruction of everything good they ever did with the power they had.
Biden should not have run again, I agree. I don’t know who would have won in an open primary, but whoever it was at least would have had a clean slate in terms of it not looking like an anointing.
Its a different political world out there and its crazy that Dems like Schumer refuse to see it and just keep lecturing us on social media. My senator, van hollen, is finally going off about it and i’m glad to see it.
But nobody stepped up to run, either, except Dean Phillips (who?) so why would Biden step aside? It’s been a problem since Bill Clinton that the Democratic leadership has consolidated power and not worked to “build the bench”. Obama’s election was an exception because Howard Dean instituted the 50 state strategy which made it possible for Obama to gain the nomination over Hillary in 2008.
@MairzyDoats right, thats exactly part of the problem with the Dems – we don’t build the bench the way we should. Rs are better at that. Dems are afraid of being penalized if they challenge someone in power – like I can’t think of who would have openly challenged Biden that had a realistic chance of beating him in a primary.
but maybe if he had flat out said he wasn’t running, some prominent names would have come forward in a primary – Harris, Buttigieg, Newsome, etc. People who may not have wanted to openly challenge Biden but who would have had a good chance in a primary.
I’m not sure I’m going to read this book – at least not right now – just because reading a book written by an intelligent woman who was so close to the White House seems kind of heartbreaking right now. I forced myself to read Hillary’s What Happened and I liked it (I didn’t understand the criticism that she was deflecting blame, I think she took a lot of the blame for losing). But it was hard to read bc every page was just a reminder of what we could have had.
I do think these books – What Happened and 107 Days – are important post mortems. I do get why people are saying “ugh not right now” because it seems like its leading to more divisions at a time when the Dems need to be united. But the truth is that those divisions exist in the party and they need to be discussed and analyzed and we need to figure out how to move forward. how the establishment reacted to her candidacy both as VP and then as President is something working looking at, even if its uncomfortable for many.
Her interview with Rachel Maddow the other night was good. I was glad to see her, and glad to see that she’s asking some good questions about where we need to focus.
The interview with Maddow where Harris said that she was surprised the tech oligarchs bent the knee so quickly because she thought they were going to save democracy? And likened Trump to a *communist* dictator? LOL.
She can write her book, whatever. Her centrism and belief that neoliberal capitalism will save us is her big problem. Her comments on Maddow show her to be just as out of touch as every other establishment Dem–punching left and only concerned with the billionaires.
I don’t get the complaints about the timing. Would people rather have it come out next year in the middle of the midterms? I think she must have worked very hard to complete this book for a Fall 2025 release and tour. Those moaning about the timing don’t want her to tell her story period. There is no better time than now. And remember what she said in her Ellipse speech? “I will always tell you the truth even when it is difficult to hear.”
The timing for a book like this is never going to be good; she was always going to be criticized for challenging some of the establishment workings (I guess is one way to put it.)
I don’t really feel like engaging in a back and forth because I think its okay for people to have different views on this. Like I said I think this is an important book and I hope its used to help the Dems in 2026 and 2028.
I wasn’t directing that comment at you, Becks. A lot of “bad actors” have used that to undermine her. You clearly weren’t doing that. It’s all the bad faith takes that annoy me, not innocent observations like yours.
“I don’t get the complaints about the timing” — that’s because they’re coming from people who will whine about anything, including a book they’re not going to read, regardless of what time it is. Let’s also keep in mind this article is from Politico, owned by Axel Springer with “a decades-long record of bending journalistic ethics for right-wing causes” – https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/axel-springer-politico-media-scandal-germany-bild/
And the R-wing “German owner of Politico wants another US Media Outlet” – https://apple.news/Amj9eM4eWR9KssSgq3sBV1g
So the Politico article quotes a Democratic strategist (who desperately wants to maintain his relevance so he can continue to make money regardless of whether the Dems win or lose) and an advisor to some unnamed 2028 candidate who wants to be sure that Harris is not his client’s opponent (assuming that the orange monster doesn’t call off elections entirely). Have to say I like the current DNC chair’s strategy of decentralizing and allowing state parties to run their local operations to fit the needs of their constituents.
Kaiser, thank you–this is exactly how I feel as well. I only had the emotional strength to listen to Clinton’s What Happened, election night chapter, as I was driving to vote for Harris. I sobbed when I came out, grief from 2016 and hope/relief for 2024 (hah, she said, faintly). I don’t know if I’m stronger now, but I am buying the hardcover and plan to read it soon.
If nothing else it should put the Democrats like Pete Buttigieg and Josh Shapiro that no Zionist is getting the Dem Nod ever again.
I told my kids all thru those 100 days that she was not in favour of Netanyahu and I stand on that today.
Biden was president and controlling the policy on Israel. And he was very pro Zionist. It was clear that Harris wasn’t but instead of giving her a chance, they let the worst person who has a son in law directly friends with Netanyahu get the power.
You know, I think a woman is going to win this office when she’s utterly convinced that the other guy deserves to lose and treats him like it. And totally believes in herself. And that means — as Margaret Thatcher proved — first slaying the demons in your own backyard. First, get rid of the old guard. Keep the ones who are willing to work with you, not as a token assignment, but who are ride or die. Then launch a campaign. But clean your own house first. Thatcher won the Conservative Party internal election in 1975 and very handily dispatched Ted Heath, who was not popular. And she seemed to relish it. Then the party fell in line behind her. You have to pick a fight. Look at Obama: he went toe to toe with Hilary and won. He won a fight for his own party. Then the party went into the election campaign united around him. Cause the nomination is starting gun, it’s the end of one race and the start of another. People want to know you can keep your staff honest and accountable, you can impose your authority on errant freelancers, you won’t let anarchy emerge on your watch. I’ll say the Democratic Party lost its soul when it let Hilary rig the Democratic primary in West Virginia, where a majority voted for Bernie Sanders, in 2016. That’s how we got another Clinton candidacy. Which was never going to be enough to beat Trump. Bernie might have lost that election, but he would have cleaned house of all the careerist time serving lobbyists in the DNC.
The left isn’t organized enough to vote for a woman anytime soon. They expect a standard of perfection that doesn’t exist.
If anything it will be a woman on the right who gets it first. Because once the right decides to vote for someone they organize much better.
Harris was criticized for everything and given no breaks. Meanwhile an idiotic buffoon was running for the GOP with criminal convictions. It could not have been any more obvious, but racism and sexism create huge obstacles in the U.S.
Also can the Palestinian protesters leave Harris alone? She’s not the president and can’t change policy. Go protest the orange monster who wants to build condos in Gaza.
I think those protestors are very suspect. Who would pay good money to attend an event only to get removed? It’s probably an op of some kind, maybe even paid by MAGA. I’m glad KDH is keeping their money. 🤣😉
There are plenty of woman-hating guys on the left, alas. Listen to their rhetoric and the staffers they pick. The idea that Bernie could’ve saved us has never made sense. I will never foget how he pouted all through the Democratic Convention and only reluctantly helped Clinton after she became the candidate. Her loss to Trump was a close one. People forget that.
I totally agree about misogyny on the left, but someone somewhere is paying these people. The tickets were in demand and got very expensive in resales. Who can afford to spend money to protest a private citizen then get escorted out?
They all need to STFU about Kamala and get to work on getting Trump out of office. That is the ONLY thing that should be on the minds of Dems. What a disaster of a country…
“In an era where Democrats need all hands on deck in the fight to protect the country and the constitution from the lawlessness of the Trump administration, she had a real opportunity to be a critical voice in the resistance,” said Michael Hardaway.
Oh f*ck off, Hardaway. Kamala did her part … she worked her derriere off trying to get Americans to listen to sense, but too many of us couldn’t vote for the smart Black lady (looking at you, fellow white women).
Hardaway was a senior adviser to Hakeem Jeffries, who’s been basically useless in the resistance. Go advise your guy, Hardaway.
Dem “strategists” are going to be the death of the Democratic Party.
I’m a Democrat and I’m not mad at her. And similarly, I can’t read her book yet. It’s too hard and sad. Love the back cover photo though.
And I want to know who the advisor is b/c that’s a candidate I do not want to support. People with actual power should be offering a clear way forward but many are instead signing onto memorials for a racist, sexist, far-right nut. Harris is one of the few that seems to understand what’s going on right now.
I still can’t read Hilary’s. That election was too personal and devastating to me. I loved her and I will never forget that night.
We’re gonna sink ourselves, aren’t we?