Kamala Harris — Former Vice President of the United States (the 49th, and first woman, first Black and first South Asian person in the role) and the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. A former California Attorney General and US Senator, she is promoting her memoir, 107 Days.
The gist
Steven Bartlett interviews Kamala Harris about her compressed 107-day 2024 presidential campaign and the memoir she wrote about it. She speaks frankly about being disappointed and angered by Joe Biden, about his inner circle deliberately dimming her to protect him, and about the shock of election night. The conversation ranges across her upbringing and career firsts, how to deal with self-doubt and being underestimated, Trump's use of misdirection and emotional 'gaslighting,' and the failures and future of the Democratic Party. She discusses regretting not appearing on Joe Rogan's show, argues for lowering the voting age to 16, and processes the grief of losing the election and of her late mother, while leaving the door open to running again in 2028.
Big reveals
- Calls her relationship with Joe Biden 'very complicated' and says he greatly disappointed and angered her.
- On debate day Biden phoned not to encourage her but to relay people in Pennsylvania saying bad things about him; she concluded his motivation 'was all about himself.'
- Says Biden's staff deliberately suppressed her accomplishments because if she shone, Biden looked dimmed.
- Admits she wanted to do Joe Rogan's show, was advised against it, and now regrets not going on.
- Says she'll run again only if she can make a difference, and confirms she's still leading Democratic polls.
- Recounts the moment her campaign manager said they needed 200,000 votes they couldn't find, and she repeated 'My God' in shock.
- Reveals she and husband Doug didn't talk about election night until months later while writing the book.
- Argues the voting age should be lowered to 16 and says the Democrats failed by treating the crisis as one man rather than a decades-long plan.
Things worth remembering
- As California AG she secured $25 billion in homeowner relief after the 2008 crisis and made California the first state to mandate body cameras.
- She was the 49th US Vice President; there had only been 48 before her.
- 'Rule number one, watch the vice president' is the lore an outgoing chief of staff passes to the incoming one.
- Her debate prep used a stand-in named Phipe who played Trump in full orange makeup and never broke character.
- She wrote a smiley face on her debate notepad, deciding 'the person who's having fun wins.'
- She hadn't heard the 'Haitians eating cats and dogs' rumor until her team warned her minutes before the debate.
- Gen Z (roughly ages 13-27) is expected to hold 10 to 12 jobs in their lifetime and coined the term 'climate anxiety.'
- She frames current events as the high-velocity implementation of Project 2025, a plan 'decades in the making.'
- Compares post-election grief to a 'phantom limb' and to 'gold medal depression' after intense competition stops.
- Her mother died of colon cancer at 70; she chose not to make her mother part of her inner 'safe space' because her mother 'wanted to kill everybody.'
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107 Days
Kamala Harris
“When I was reading your book 107 days, one of the really surprising things was but also makes sense when I understand human nature” — Kamala Harris 00:33:35Find it on Amazon