Former US President Barack Obama is claimed to have worked "behind the scenes" to block former US Vice President Kamala Harris' nomination as Democratic Party candidate following Joe Biden's exit from the race, according to a book. As per a NY Post report, while Obama did not think that Biden should continue, he also didn't want Kamala Harris to replace Biden as the presidential candidate, sources close to Obama say, according to Jonathan Allen, co-author of FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.
Here's what co-author of the book says
Obama was reportedly in favour of an open convention rather than automatically backing Harris despite her garnering support in the Democratic circles.
According to Allen, Obama did not think she was the best choice for Democrats. as he added, quoting the former president, "He (Obama) worked really behind the scenes for a long time to try to have a mini-primary, or an open convention, or a mini-primary leading to an open convention."
Barack Obama "did not have faith in her ability", and he was "really working against her", Allen further claims.
Trump emerged victorious against Harris
However, in a straight contest against the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Harris faced defeat in a bitterly contested election that shattered her dream to become the first woman president of the United States.
Biden made history in 2020 by appointing Harris as the first-ever Indian American, African American and woman as the Vice President of the country.
In the summer of 2024, after a disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, Biden withdrew from the race and went ahead to endorse Harris for the presidency.
According to experts, Harris should have sent a more populist message instead of focusing on Trump's antidemocratic threats by campaigning with Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman. She also failed to separate herself from Biden, who remains deeply unpopular with voters.
(With inputs from agency)