Former Vice President Kamala Harris lamented the fact that she passed up on Pete Buttigieg as her running mate in the 2024 election, citing concerns that having a gay man on the ticket would have sunk her candidacy.
In a rare interview following her historic loss in November, Harris reflected on the choices she made during the 2024 campaign that may have led to her downfall. Although Harris said she was enthusiastic about Buttigieg as a contender, she ultimately decided against selecting the former transportation secretary because having a gay man on the same ticket as a black woman “would be a real risk.”
‘The stakes were so high.’
In Harris’ new book “107 Days,” the former vice president admitted that Buttigieg was her first choice and that he would have been an ideal running mate “if [she] were a straight man.”
“To say that he couldn’t be on the ticket, effectively, because he was gay, is hard to hear,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow told Harris.
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Harris initially tried to deny that her choice was made based on Buttigieg’s identity but rather because of the narrow window she had to make the crucial decision. Despite her attempt to soften the blow, Harris acknowledged that the stakes were “so high” that she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) instead.
“No, no, no, that’s not what I said,” Harris responded.
“To be a black woman running for president of the United States and as a vice presidential running mate, a gay man, with the stakes being so high, it made me very sad, but I also realized it would be a real risk.”
“It wasn’t about any prejudice on my part but that we had such a short period of time,” Harris added. “And the stakes were so high. I think Pete is a phenomenal, phenomenal public servant. And I think America is and would be ready for that. But when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go, you know, and maybe I was being too cautious … but that’s the decision I made.”
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Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Buttigieg later said he was “surprised” to see the excerpt of Harris’ highly anticipated book, saying he believes in “giving Americans more credit.”
“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg told Politico.
“You just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them,” Buttigieg added. “Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things.”
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Kamala harris, Rachel maddow, Donald trump, Pete buttigieg, Joe biden, 2024 election, Presidential election, Mike waltz, Msnbc, Politics
