Former Vice President Kamala Harris has dropped a revealing tidbit from her upcoming book, admitting she initially eyed Pete Buttigieg as her running mate before settling on Tim Walz.
According to Fox News, Harris’s new book "107 Days" discloses that Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, topped her list of potential partners. This excerpt, published by The Atlantic, offers a glimpse into her decision-making during last year’s presidential campaign.
Her candid reflection raises questions about the cultural tightrope politicians navigate in a deeply divided nation. While Harris ultimately lost to Donald Trump and JD Vance alongside Walz, her hesitation over Buttigieg speaks volumes about perceived voter biases.
Harris wrote that Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner, if I were a straight white man.” That line cuts to the heart of her dilemma, suggesting she believed America wasn’t ready for a ticket with both a Black woman and a gay man.
She admitted, “Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it,” but felt the risk was too great given what was at stake. It’s a sobering acknowledgment that identity politics still looms large, often overshadowing qualifications in the public eye.
Buttigieg, she noted, likely shared her sadness over this reality. Her words hint at a missed opportunity, not just for them, but for a broader cultural shift that might have been pushed forward.
Harris didn’t hold back on her admiration, calling Buttigieg a “sincere public servant” with a knack for making liberal ideas palatable to conservative ears. That’s high praise, and it underscores why he led her vetting list of eight names.
She also wrote, “I love Pete,” and described working with him as a joy, even noting her friendship with him and his husband, Chasten. This personal warmth contrasts sharply with the cold calculus of electoral strategy that sidelined him.
One has to wonder if this rare bipartisan appeal Harris credits to Buttigieg could have shifted the campaign’s outcome. It’s a tantalizing what-if in a race that ultimately slipped through her grasp.
Instead of Buttigieg, Harris paired with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a decision that ended in defeat against Trump and Vance. The loss stings, and her book seems poised to dissect every choice made during those intense months.
Her reflections in "107 Days," set for release next Tuesday, promise an unfiltered look at the campaign’s chaos and heartbreak. It’s clear she’s wrestling with the weight of decisions that balance personal conviction against political pragmatism.
This isn’t just a memoir; it’s a window into the brutal realities of modern campaigning. Harris’s honesty about Buttigieg reveals how much of politics remains a game of perception over principle.
As we digest Harris’s words, it’s hard not to see her caution as a mirror to our fractured society. Choosing Walz over Buttigieg wasn’t just about strategy; it was about survival in an electorate quick to reject the unfamiliar.
Her book’s description on Simon & Schuster’s site calls it a story of “one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history.” That’s no exaggeration, and her choice of running mate will surely be debated as a pivotal moment.
Ultimately, Harris’s revelation about Buttigieg isn’t just about a missed partnership. It’s a quiet lament for a nation that, in her view, wasn’t ready to embrace a bolder vision, leaving us all to ponder what might have been.
