Biden Aides Warned Donors Replacing President With Kamala Harris Would Be a 'Mistake,' New Book Claims

Aides to President Joe Biden reportedly advised Democratic donors that it would be a "mistake" for him to step down in favor of Harris during the 2024 presidential race.

Tensions between Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been unveiled in an upcoming book, Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.

According to excerpts from the new book, the former president's aides expressed strong reservations about the former VP as a candidate, with one source stating "no one wants" Harris even if Biden were to leave the race.

"One donor on the receiving end of an electronic message summed up the sentiments of Biden’s top aides: ‘They were aggressively saying that we would wind up with the vice-president and that would be a mistake,’" the excerpt read.

"The last threat, the ace in the hole, was Kamala Harris. Even if Biden did drop out and you got your dreamed-up open convention, you would only succeed in nominating the vice-president," a source told the authors. "Is that what you want? You want her? Look at her polling. No one wants her. Forget it. It’s never gonna happen."

The book, authored by NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen and The Hill reporter Amie Parnes, further delved into the 82-year-old's reliance on an "autocue" for delivering "unscripted" remarks, portraying him as appearing less than robust.

Despite the Biden camp's apparent pushback against Harris, Democrats seemed resigned to her candidacy.

In the words of a veteran operative quoted in the book, "Well, at least she has a pulse."

The book also touches upon the "frosty" nature of the meetings between Biden and Harris since the election.

A released excerpt earlier this month showed that Biden had high expectations for Harris' role in protecting his legacy during her presidential campaign.

"He would say publicly that Harris should do what she must to win. But privately, including in conversations with her, he repeated an admonition: let there be no daylight between us," the authors wrote.

Elsewhere in the book, aides to Harris privately "strategized around the possibility that Biden might die in office."

"In hush-hush talks starting in 2023, [DNC] officials gamed out Biden-withdrawal scenarios, according to two people familiar with them," the authors wrote. "They wanted to make sure the party was ready for every possible circumstance: If Biden launched his campaign and then stepped aside before the primaries; if he won a bunch of primaries and then could not continue."