Jill Biden opposed picking Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate, a new book reveals

First lady Jill Biden opposed choosing Kamala Harris as her husband Joe Biden’s running mate after she attacked him during a primary debate, according to an upcoming new book.

The first lady’s anger was revealed in a bombastic new book by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns titled This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, due out in May.

“There are millions of people in the United States. Why do we have to pick whoever attacked Joe,” Jill Biden said in an interview after learning that Harris was the lead candidate for the job, according to an excerpt from the book provided to Fox News.

However, many in Biden’s inner circle believed that Harris would give the president the best chance of winning the election, according to the book. Ron Klain, the current White House chief of staff charged with reviewing VP candidates, believed that Harris was the most qualified candidate for the position.

“Yes, Harris had attacked Biden harder than any other major candidate in the Democratic primary. Yes, the Biden family had seen it as defamation and treason. In Klain’s estimation, that would work to Biden’s advantage,” the book reads. “Harris’ election will show people that you are magnanimous and forgiving,” Klain told Biden. It will show the country what a unifying leader you can be.”

Joe Biden and Harris memorably clashed at the first Democratic debate in June 2019, when Harris chastised the president for speaking out against state-mandated school buses and recalled her own experiences with buses and desegregation when she grew up in Oakland.

Martin and Burns’ new book also details Joe Biden’s reluctance to choose Harris and cites her past romantic relationship with Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco who appointed Harris to two minor political positions.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are mentioned in the book as other potential candidates for his campaign are considered, as well as other lawmakers and activists such as Stacey Abrams.

Abrams, the book states, “failed the test” as a VP candidate after the campaign lost confidence in its ability to attract voters after losing the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election. Biden’s team also had concerns about her lack of experience as an elected official.

Despite her attacks on Biden, Harris was considered Biden’s best bet to win the White House.

“You know, white women are incredibly racist, as are white men,” a close advisor to Biden said in the book. “None of this was certain. That was risky. But it was the safest choice we had.”

According to a book published last year — “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump,” by Edward-Isaac Dovere — Jill Biden told supporters on a conference call that Harris should “kid” herself for attacking did her husband during the Democratic primary.

The first lady notably didn’t deny making the remark, telling a reporter last year, “That was two years ago. We made progress from that.”