Failed candidate blasts Democrats for ‘piling on’ Joe Biden after debate flop exposed decline she helped conceal
Kamala Harris on Thursday defended Joe Biden’s fitness to serve as president and blasted her fellow Democrats for “piling on” after his disastrous debate performance exposed the cognitive decline she helped conceal.
“I feel very strongly that, um, I mean, it’s an instinct of mine to be, um, someone who does not participate in piling on,” she told Stephen Colbert during an appearance on the Late Show to plug her new book about the election. “And I was not going to pile on. And I just wasn’t going to do that. And there was a lot of piling on at that time, and I just wasn’t going to participate in that.”
Utilizing her remarkable gift for off-the-cuff eloquence, Harris praised Biden for “aspiring to have integrity,” and urged Colbert and other Democrats to stop criticizing the disgraced octogenarian. “Let me say something about Joe Biden,” she said. “I have an incredible amount of respect for him. And, um, I think that the way that we should be thinking about where we are right now is to remember that we had a president of the United States who believed in the rule of law, who believed in the importance of aspiring to have integrity, and to do the work on behalf of the people.”
Less than 24 hours after announcing her decision to pass on California governor’s race in 2026, prompting speculation about a presidential comeback in 2028, Harris unveiled 107 Days, the book she “wrote” about last year’s election and why it wasn’t her fault that she lost because she didn’t have enough time to introduce herself to the American people (after serving as vice president for four years).
Harris told Colbert the book was “basically what I would offer as a behind-the-scenes, um, sharing of what it means to run for president.” Her goal was to invite normal Americans to “see from the inside what it is in a way that they can see something about themselves that tells them, ‘Hey, I can do that.'” Indeed, it’s safe to say that anytime Kamala Harris does a thing, most observers will conclude (correctly) that they could do it (better).
Colbert, the former comedian whose failure to earn money prompted CBS to abolish the Late Show, spoke truth to power by grilling Harris about her complicity in the cover-up of Biden’s decline. (Not really.) “First of all, you look rested,” he said. “I’m happy for you.” The host went on to ask a probing question that was “on everyone’s mind right now.” The question was: “How’s Doug?” Kamala cackled in response while the audience cheered. Colbert effusively praised Harris (without evidence) as a “very hopeful and dynamic presidential candidate” who was “very qualified for the presidency.” It was her eighth appearance on the show.
Asked about her decision not to run for governor of California, Harris blamed the “broken” system and said she wasn’t interested in trying to fix things from within. “I believe and I always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles,” she said. “And I think right now that, um, they’re not as strong as they need to be, and I just don’t want to, for now, I don’t want to go back in the system.”
Harris denied that the decision was motivated by her desire to run for president again in 2028. She said her focus for the time being was on traveling the country and speaking with the American people in a way that wasn’t “transactional, where I’m asking for their vote.” (Just their money.)
“It is important, I think, that in this moment where people have become so deflated and despondent and afraid, and afraid, that those of use who have the ability, which I do right now not being in an office, where I’m campaigning for that office, to be out there and to talk with folks and remind them of their power, and their importance in making a difference,” Harris said, reminding viewers of the oratorical genius she regularly displayed on the campaign trail.
The former vice president, who will be forever haunted by her association with Biden, reportedly arrived at her decision after a weekend in the English countryside with a bunch of rich liberals. She flew across the pond last week for the wedding of Eve Jobs, daughter of Apple founder Steve Jobs and his billionaire widow Laurene Powell Jobs (who is a Democratic donor and close personal friend of Harris). “The Cotswolds event, which included a number of attendees from her long-ago San Francisco days, was a clarifying change of routine that, according to several people close to her, helped solidify her decision,” Politico reported this week.
It would appear that Harris realized that “writing” a book and hanging out with billionaires is a lot more fun than having a job—even a fake one like “governor of California.” Of course, her decision was made easier by the fact that a not insignificant number of Democrats want her to go away forever. As one California donor told Politico: “Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete shit storm.”
