Author Makes Stunning Claims About Obama's Opposition to Harris' Nomination
Biden's endorsement of his vice president triggered strong pushback from Obama, the writer of a new election book said on MSNBC.
Former President Barack Obama pushed hard to try to prevent Kamala Harris from being anointed the Democratic nominee in the 2024 race for president, the author of a new political book said Tuesday on MSNBC.
He “did not have faith in her ability to win the election,” said Jonathan Allen, co-author of “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.”
NBC News’ Allen and co-author Amie Parnes of The Hill appeared on “Morning Joe” to plug their account of Donald Trump’s eventual victory in November. Host Joe Scarborough noted that the book’s section about Obama’s initial opposition to Harris “really jumps out.” Allen jumped in.
“He didn’t think that she was the best choice for Democrats,” Allen explained. “And he worked really behind the scenes for a long time to try to have a mini primary or an open convention or mini primary leading to an open convention. Did not have faith in her ability to win the election. As it turned out, she didn’t win, but he was really working against her.”
Allen pivoted to a specific anecdote suggesting that Obama was working the phones against Harris right after President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of the vice president.
“In one moment, he had set up a phone call with Congressman [Jim] Clyburn from South Carolina on the day that Joe Biden handed off the baton to Kamala Harris, and Obama had set up a call with Clyburn for like 5:30 that afternoon,” Allen said. “And Clyburn thought to himself, this guy’s going to try to rope me into the open convention thing. I better get my endorsement of Harris out there fast, so this is a short conversation. And when Harris talked to Obama on the day that Biden handed off to her, Obama was unwilling to give his endorsement.”
Five days later, however, Obama finally endorsed Harris in a video with former first lady Michelle Obama.
“Harris has enjoyed near-unanimous support from the party since current President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race Sunday, defying pundits who predicted Democratic infighting should Biden bow out,” HuffPost wrote at the time.
But, for a while at least, one of the party’s most prominent figures was allegedly digging in his heels.
Obama’s office didn’t immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
Author Makes Stunning Claims About Obama's Opposition to Harris' Nomination
Biden's endorsement of his vice president triggered strong pushback from Obama, the writer of a new election book said on MSNBC.
