Barack Obama worked against Kamala Harris in US presidential elections, book claims

The authors claimed that Barack Obama was of the opinion that Kamala Harris would not win against Donald Trump.

Updated on: Apr 2, 2025, 22:13:25 IST

By HT News Desk

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Former US President Barack Obama was working against former vice president Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election race, authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes have claimed in their new book.

Barack Obama fully supports Kamala Harris in her bid to presidency and will endorse her soon; Report

In an interview with MSNBC, Allen, a senior political reporter at NBC News, claimed that Obama was of the opinion that Kamala Harris would not win against Donald Trump.

"President Obama absolutely did not think that Joe Biden should continue, according to our sources close to President Obama," Allen told MSNBC. “And he also didn’t want Kamala Harris to be the replacement for Biden. He didn’t think that she was the best choice for Democrats.”

He claimed that Obama was working behind the scenes, advocating for an open primary, as he did not have faith in Kamala Harris's ability to defeat Donald Trump.

Also Read | Joe Biden says he could have defeated Donald Trump: ‘I had the best chance’

"He (Barack Obama) worked really behind the scenes for a long time to try to have a mini-primary, or an open convention, or a mini-primary leading to an open convention, did not have faith in her ability to win the election," the author told MSNBC.

Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes's book “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House" was released on April 1.

Also Read | Donald Trump strips Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, key officials of security clearances

Allen told the television channel that Obama was not willing to endorse Harris when he talked to the vice president on the day Biden dropped out.

Obama served as the US president from 2008 to 2016.

US presidential election

Joe Biden, 82, had dropped out of the US presidential race last year after facing criticism from own party, following a calamitous televised debate against Trump in which he looked incapable of making the case for another term.

US vice president Kamala Harris secured the nomination but eventually lost the election to 78-year-old Trump, who staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in American political history.

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