Kamala Harris’ new memoir drops a bombshell about her vice presidential pick, revealing a decision-making process that sidestepped one candidate’s military record only to embrace another’s questionable claims.
In her book, 107 Days, set for release on Sept 23, Harris lays bare the reasoning behind choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, while detailing controversies over Walz’s military misrepresentations and her sharp critiques of fellow Democrats, as the Washington Free Beacon reports.
Let’s start with the initial frontrunners. Harris considered Kelly a “magnetic” figure for her running mate but hesitated over his lack of a defining political crisis -- an “oh shit” moment, as she calls it. Worse, she feared his military service could be twisted into a political weapon.
“I realized I couldn’t afford to test Mark Kelly in that ugly grinder,” Harris writes in her memoir. And there’s the rub -- why risk a repeat of the 2004 Swift Boat debacle that sank John Kerry’s presidential hopes with doubts about his Vietnam record? That campaign, orchestrated by GOP strategist Chris LaCivita, who later advised Donald Trump, showed how military service can become a liability in the wrong hands.
Harris’s caution wasn’t baseless, given how swiftly narratives can shift in politics. She saw Kelly as vulnerable to similar attacks, even though his record stood untarnished. Better safe than sorry, or so she thought.
Enter Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who ultimately got the nod. But here’s the kicker -- Walz’s own military record wasn’t exactly spotless. Over his 24 years in the National Guard, he made claims that didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Walz repeatedly billed himself as a command sergeant major, despite retiring at a lower rank. He also suggested he carried weapons “in war,” though he never saw combat. And let’s not forget his retirement timing -- just as his battalion faced potential deployment to Iraq.
The missteps don’t stop there. As far back as 2006, Walz’s congressional campaign materials falsely claimed he served in Afghanistan, according to a 2024 report by the Washington Free Beacon. This isn’t just a slip of the tongue; it’s a pattern.
J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, didn’t mince words, calling Walz’s exaggerations “stolen valor.” That’s a heavy charge, and it cuts deep when military service is supposed to be a badge of honor, not a political prop. How did Harris square this with her earlier caution?
Before settling on Walz, Harris eyed then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as her top choice. But she backed off, deeming it “too big a risk” to pair her identity as a Black woman married to a Jewish man with a gay man married to another man. It’s a calculation that reeks of pandering to perceived cultural limits rather than challenging them.
Then there’s Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was rumored to be a leading contender. Harris found his ambition off-putting, especially his insistence on being in every major decision room, worrying he wouldn’t settle for second fiddle. That’s a fair concern, but it’s rich coming from a campaign obsessed with optics over substance.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t fare much better in Harris’s eyes. She describes him as “unreachable” during the chaotic hours after then-President Joe Biden exited the race. For a party preaching unity, that’s a damning indictment of behind-the-scenes dysfunction.
Harris doesn’t hold back on her frustrations with Biden’s White House either. She accuses his team of failing to defend her record and even intentionally undermining her efforts. That’s a bold claim, especially when paired with a recounted call from Biden himself asking if she’d been criticizing him to donors.
This memoir isn’t just a peek behind the curtain; it’s a full-on stage dive into the messy underbelly of Democratic Party politics. Harris’s choices, from dodging Kelly’s potential baggage to embracing Walz’s flawed narrative, raise questions about consistency and conviction. If military records are a dealbreaker for one, why not the other?
In the end, Harris' book might be less about 107 days and more about 107 contradictions. Harris’s journey to pick a running mate shows a leader wrestling with optics over principle, a trend too common in today’s hyper-progressive political arena. Let’s hope the book offers more answers than excuses when it hits shelves later this month.
