Joe Biden had reservations about nominating Kamala Harris as his running mate because of her previous relationship with a married veteran California politician more than 30 years her senior.
A new book based on interviews with White House insiders claims the president was concerned about Ms Harris’s association with Willie Brown, the speaker of the California state assembly, who she dated when she was just embarking on her political career at the age of 29.
Mr Brown was 60 at the time and separated from his wife. The two were frequently seen together in public in the early 1990s.
Mr Brown appointed Ms Harris, who was serving in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, to a couple of minor political positions, laying the foundations for a career that saw her rise to becoming a US senator and then vice president.
According to the book, written by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, Mr Biden was uneasy about the historic romance, saying the relationship was the “the kind of thing which should be off-limits”.
Mr Brown has continued to be a supporter of Ms Harris, heaping praise on her in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle as she became vice president, describing her as “the multiracial, multicultural, Democratic female power ideal who stole the show on Inauguration Day.”
The book, This will not pass: Trump, Biden and the battle for America’s future, also claims Jill Biden strongly opposed Ms Harris’s nomination as her husband’s running mate.
She had been angered by Ms Harris’s vitriolic attack on Mr Biden during the candidates’ primary debate in June 2019, when she rounded on his opposition to bussing - a measure designed to promote school integration.
Pointing out that she was one of the children who benefited from bussing, Ms Harris accused Mr Biden of working with segregationists to block the initiative.
It was an attack that not only galvanised Ms Harris’s campaign, but also threatened to derail Mr Biden’s by undermining his support from African American voters, who were seen as vital in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Jill Biden, the book claims, was incensed by the choice, reportedly asking, “why do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?”
Nevertheless, she was chosen as a running mate on the advice of close Biden ally and now White House chief of staff, Ron Klain.
The disclosure will underpin what has allegedly been a difficult relationship in office.
Reportedly she has complained about being sidelined by Mr Biden and denied the opportunity to make her mark on the administration and cement her place as heir apparent.
Tasked with handling the thorny issue of immigration, Ms Harris’s poll ratings have been little short of disastrous, which will weaken her chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024 or 2028.
Although Mr Biden has signalled that he will seek a second term, observers in Washington do not think this is certain.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...inting-kamala-harris-relationship-politician/
