In a forthcoming memoir, former Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a striking and candid critique of former President Joe Biden’s decision to pursue a second term, describing it as “recklessness” that placed the nation’s future in peril. Excerpts from her book, 107 Days, published in The Atlantic on Wednesday (September 10, 2025), reveal a deep-seated frustration within the administration as questions about the 81-year-old president’s capacity mounted ahead of the 2024 election.
The memoir details a period of growing anxiety within Democratic circles, as the party grappled with the implications of an aging incumbent. Harris writes that the decision to run was treated as a private matter, left solely to the discretion of Joe and Jill Biden. “We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized,” she recounts. She then challenges this prevailing sentiment, stating, “Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness.”
Harris explains her view that the stakes were simply too high for the decision to be left to an individual’s “ego” or “ambition.” It should have been a collective consideration, she argues, rather than a personal one. The former vice president admits her own difficult position during that time, confessing that she felt unable to advise Biden against running without appearing “incredibly self-serving” or disloyal. She writes, “I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out.”
The book, which takes its title from the truncated length of her subsequent presidential campaign, does not question Biden’s intellect or character. Instead, Harris defends him, portraying a man of deep conviction and experience. However, she notes that at 81, “Joe got tired,” and that fatigue “showed in physical and verbal stumbles.” She ties his performance in a critical June 2024 debate to an exhaustive travel schedule, but maintains her loyalty to the country superseded any personal loyalty she felt.
Harris also sheds light on the internal dynamics of the Biden-Harris administration, describing a White House staff that she felt marginalized her and was hesitant to defend her from Republican attacks. She claims there was a “zero-sum” mentality among some aides who believed “if she’s shining, he’s dimmed.” The memoir suggests that the administration’s failure to fully leverage her political strengths was a missed opportunity, especially given the public’s growing concern over Biden’s age. The book is set to be released on September 23.
