Kamala Harris claims she 'had a certain responsibility' to argue against Biden running again
Washington: Former US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday evening that she regrets not expressing her concerns about then-President Joe Biden running for a second term when a majority of Americans felt he was too old for the job.
"I have and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on," Harris told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC in her first live television interview since the election.
Such a conversation, even if it happened privately and behind the scenes, would have been an extraordinary breach in a relationship between a president and vice president.
Harris' comments expand on a passage in her book, "107 Days," that looks back on her experience replacing Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee after he dropped out of the race. Harris ultimately lost to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
In the book, Harris wrote that everyone in the White House would say “it's Joe and Jill's decision” about running for reelection, referring to the president and first lady. “Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” she wrote.
“The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”
In her interview with Maddow, Harris said, "when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I'm talking about myself.”
Harris said in the interview she was concerned that “it would come off as completely self-serving” if she had counseled Biden not to seek reelection. She had competed against him for their party's 2020 nomination, and she was well positioned to run again.
A representative for Biden declined comment.
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India moving towards becoming global economic powerhouse: Kovind
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Amritsar (PTI): Former president Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that with digital transformation, economic reforms and a strong focus on the ease of doing business, India is moving towards becoming a global economic powerhouse.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 19th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) in Amritsar.
The former president said that this 19th edition of PITEX is being organised at a time when India is recognised as one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) the former president, while referring to Punjab, said the state is a living example of courage, sacrifice and enterprise.
"The spiritual light of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) inspires peace and humanity across the world. The heritage of Punjab is deep and inspiring," Kovind said, according to a statement issued by the PITEX.
The former president congratulated the PHDCCI for hosting the 19th edition of PITEX and suggested that the chamber should expand PITEX outside Punjab.
He proposed that a similar event should also be held in New Delhi.
