Top Democrats Balked at Backing Kamala Harris After Biden Dropped Out

Kamala Harris may have inherited the Democratic nomination after Joe Biden’s implosion but don’t mistake that for unity.

According to excerpts from her upcoming memoir, Harris faced immediate resistance from top Democrat power players when she started dialing for endorsements after Biden abruptly dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024. And the message from many of them was clear: you haven’t earned it.

Who Hesitated And Why

• Barack Obama told Harris: “Saddle up! Joe did what I hoped he would do. But you have to earn it… We’re not going to put a finger on the scale.”

• Nancy Pelosi warned against “anointment,” pushing for a “process” instead of coronation:
  “We have a great bench. We should have some kind of primary.”

• Bernie Sanders advised Harris not to lean too hard into abortion rhetoric and instead refocus on the working class a not-so-subtle criticism of her campaign priorities.

• Gavin Newsom, governor of Harris’ home state, ghosted her after claiming he was “hiking.”

• Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose state hosted the DNC, claimed he couldn’t commit even after Biden was gone.

• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she needed time to “let the dust settle” before offering public support.

All this came as Harris scrambled to assert herself as the new face of the party just 107 days before the election. But her own words betray the insecurity simmering under the surface:

“If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.”

The clock was ticking, and Kamala knew any extended process would expose her as unelectable. So she demanded immediate loyalty and didn’t always get it.

Let’s be honest the top brass in the Democratic Party knew what a liability Harris was. That’s why they floated other names, dragged their feet, or offered weak support couched in “timing” and “process.”

This wasn’t about democracy. It was about damage control.

Kamala Harris, the least popular vice president in modern history, was suddenly the face of a broken party trying to stop Donald Trump’s return. And even her supposed allies were hesitant to get behind her.

Meanwhile, a few desperate loyalists like Hillary Clinton, Mark Kelly, and Roy Cooper jumped in to fill the void. Clinton even offered to “jump on Amtrak” to help, a detail that reads more like a punchline than a campaign strategy.

The book also underscores how Biden’s cognitive decline had long been a ticking time bomb for Democrats, and when it finally detonated, the scramble to prop up Harris only highlighted how unprepared the party really was.

This memoir doesn’t make Harris look presidential. It paints a picture of a fragile candidate desperate for legitimacy, surrounded by party elites who behind closed doors would rather roll the dice with anyone else.

Even Obama wouldn’t commit.

And Pelosi? Her warning about a “great bench” and a “process” tells you all you need to know. If Democrats had any confidence in Kamala Harris, they wouldn’t have entertained the idea of reopening the primary in late July.

But instead of a real contest, they forced her nomination through and handed Donald Trump the easiest general election opponent he could’ve hoped for.

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