US First Lady Jill Biden was not happy when President Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris as running mate and for vice president, according to a new book reporting on the election and first year of the 46th president.
“There are millions of people in the United States. Why … do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?” she was quoted as saying in ‘This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future’, according to the excerpts obtained by The Politico.
The book was written by the New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns which is due to be published on May 3.
Jill’s outburst was in reference to a 2019 debate where Harris faced off with Biden in the Democratic primary.
During the debate, she called out Biden for the way he described his past working relationship with two segregationist lawmakers.
She accused Biden of opposing bussing, a way of racially integrating public schools, as a young senator in the 1970s.
Biden was reportedly hurt by the insinuation that he had been racist, according to The Guardian.
“I do not believe you are a racist. And I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,” Harris said.
“But I also believe – and it’s personal, and it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and careers on the segregation of race in this country.”
However, Jill Biden won’t be making any comments on the book excerpts.
“Many books will be written on the 2020 campaign, with countless retellings of events – some accurate, some inaccurate. The first lady and her team do not plan to comment on any of them,” A spokesman for Jill Biden, Michael Larosa, told Politico.
