Obama was working against Kamala Harris behind the scenes, didn't think she could win, new book reveals

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Obama was privately working against Harris as she sought to replace Biden, reporter tells MSNBC

Reporter and new book author Jonathan Allen said Tuesday that former President Obama was working against former Vice President Kamala Harris as she sought to replace former President Biden on the 2024 Democratic ticket.?

Reporter and author Jonathan Allen said Tuesday that former President Barack Obama was working against Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out, advocating for an open primary because he didn't think Harris could win.

"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, and he 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."

Allen, a senior politics reporter at NBC News, and Amie Parnes, a senior political correspondent for The Hill, joined MSNBC to discuss their new book set to be released this month, titled, "FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House."

"As it turned out, she didn’t win, but he was really working against her," Allen continued.

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Jonathan Allen details how his reporting found former President Obama didn't want Vice President Kamala Harris to run in Joe Biden's place after he dropped out. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

Allen also said Obama was not willing to endorse Harris when he talked to the vice president on the day Biden dropped out.

Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama did eventually endorse Harris, but their support came five days after the president announced he was dropping out and endorsed Harris himself.

"In one moment, he had set up a phone call with Congressman [James] Clyburn from South Carolina on the day that Joe Biden handed off the baton to Kamala Harris, and Obama had set up a call with Clyburn for like 5:30 that afternoon. And Clyburn thought to himself, this guy is going to try to rope me into the open convention thing, I better get my endorsement of Harris out there fast, so this is a short conversation," Allen said. 

Obama and Harris' offices did not immediately return requests for comment. 

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President Joe Biden speaks about his administration on Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The book, according to an excerpt published by The Hill, also details how Biden repeatedly urged Harris not to break with him publicly on his administration's policies. 

"But the day of the debate Biden called to give Harris an unusual kind of pep talk — and another reminder about the loyalty he demanded. No longer able to defend his own record, he expected Harris to protect his legacy," authors Allen and Parnes wrote. "Whether she won or lost the election, he thought, she would only harm him by publicly distancing herself from him — especially during a debate that would be watched by millions of Americans. To the extent that she wanted to forge her own path, Biden had no interest in giving her room to do so."

Biden told Harris, "No daylight, kid," during their phone call ahead of the debate, according to the book excerpt. 

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Harris was criticized throughout her campaign for not breaking with the president on more issues after she took his spot at the top of the Democratic ticket. At one point, she told "The View" that she couldn't think of anything she would have done differently than Biden during his first term.