After a disastrous debate, an aging president with more than 50 years in American politics decided he would no longer seek reelection. With about three months until election day, the Democratic Party, thrown into chaos, rallied behind the then vice president. The challenger: a former president who first began campaigning for the office nearly a decade earlier. It would become the shortest presidential campaign in modern history and the third-closest election in a century.
It sounds like a political thriller suitable for an HBO or Netflix short series, but it was the reality former Vice President Kamala Harris faced in the 2024 election. In her new memoir, “107 Days,” Harris recounts the day-to-day interactions and her experiences leading the shortest modern presidential campaign.
Harris focuses on the campaign, including the successes and momentum she felt during the 107 days, from celebrity endorsements and performances to rallies with thousands of supporters. But Harris also speaks intimately and candidly about the failures and missteps that occurred, starting with how she became aware former President Joe Biden would be dropping out.
When Harris describes the phone call from Biden and the news breaking 22 minutes after, it sets the scene for a full-on blitz filled with confusion, rushes for endorsements and building a team to lead the campaign.
“27 minutes after that, he endorsed me as the Democratic candidate for president of the United States,” Harris wrote.
The complicated relationship between Harris and the Bidens is encapsulated in one recounted story about a Fourth of July gathering Harris was invited to by former First Lady Jill Biden. At the gathering, a tense meeting between second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Jill Biden occurred, in which the former first lady asked if Harris and Emhoff were still “loyal.”
“They hide you away for four years, give you impossible, shit jobs, don’t correct the record when those tasks are mischaracterized, never fight back when you’re attacked, never praise your accomplishments,” Emhoff said in “107 days.” “Now, finally, they know you are an asset, and they need you to reassure the American people. And still, they have to ask if we’re loyal?”
Throughout her book, Harris rehashes her hope for “lifting (Biden’s) spirits,” a theme that she would express even while explaining that his senior team was not always supportive of her during the vice presidency and the campaign.
It was obvious throughout the book Harris felt the Biden administration could have done more to position her as a stronger candidate. She cites Biden’s address to the nation, in which he announced he would step aside but did not mention Harris until minute nine of the 11-minute speech. A tale of democratic politics, the book takes a brief look at the political motives behind certain moves — from the lack of endorsements on the day of announcement from Democratic heavy hitters like former President Barack Obama and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to Harris’ choice of her vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz.
The book, similar to the election, pushed forward with momentum with many short chapters and brief explanations of a day’s events. The chapters lead to Nov. 5, 2024, where Harris’ team would learn early in the day from the Fox News war room that things were not quite looking as they hoped. Ending late in the night on election day, it became clear that President Donald Trump would be reelected.
“This was our country. Our democracy. Our freedom,” Harris wrote. “And my mind simply would not allow me to believe that we had lost.”
A story of family, teamwork, trials and tribulations and so much more, “107 Days” provides a firsthand account of history and is well worth the read. Though some of the “insights” are surface-level, and the writing in some places is self-indulgent, the pacing is very well thought out. Ending on a hopeful note and a plea to support Generation Z, Harris promises to keep working on bettering the country, even from outside the political sphere.
“A deepest thank-you to the Americans who voted for me,” Harris wrote in her acknowledgements. “Thank you for your enthusiasm in believing in what is possible, and please don’t give up. Let us not throw up our hands; let’s roll up our sleeves.”
4 coconut trees out of 5.
