Jill Biden Questioned Kamala Harris as VP Pick ‘Why Choose the One Who Attacked Joe?’

According to a new book, First Lady Jill Biden objected to her husband Joe Biden’s choice for Vice President, Kamala Harris. In This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, authored by The New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, the educator rejected Harris as Biden’s running mate for this reason.

The educator was quoted as saying, “There are millions of people in the United States. Why … do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?” according to an excerpt read by Fox News, detailed by the authors who recalled a conversation with Jill after she learned that Harris was one of the leading candidates for VP for her husband Biden.

The attack in question was made by Harris when she was still a California Senator, calling out Biden on the issue of race. She criticized Biden for his remarks on working with past segregationist lawmakers, describing them as “hurtful,” and cited his examples of civility in working with segregationist senators.

In response, Harris posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter, and captioned, “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me. I will tell you that on this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats. We have to take it seriously. We have to act swiftly,” as per CNBC.

Biden defended himself, clarifying that Harris’ attack was “a mischaracterization of my position across the board,” and declared, “I did not praise racists.” He continued, “If we want to have this litigated on who supports civil rights, I’m happy to do that. I was a public defender. I was not a prosecutor.”

Harris then questioned Biden, “Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America?” Biden responded, “I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. I have supported the [Equal Rights Amendment] from the beginning. I’m the guy that extended the Voting Rights Act for 25 years, we got to the place where we got 98 out of 98 votes in the United States Senate doing it,” stopping himself, “Anyway, my time’s up.”

More people from Biden’s inner circle condemned Harris’ attacks but acknowledged that Harris was the most qualified out of all VP candidates. Ron Klain, now the White House chief of staff, said, “Yes, Harris had attacked Biden more harshly than any other major candidate in the Democratic primaries. Yes, the Biden family had seen it as a smear and a betrayal.”

“In Klain’s assessment, that would work to Biden’s advantage,” the book said. “Choosing Harris will show people that you are magnanimous and forgiving, Klain told Biden. It will show the country just what a unifying leader you can be.”