Obama opposed Harris’ nomination, pushed open primary, new book alleges

• A new book alleges former President Barack Obama worked behind the scenes to prevent Kamala Harris from securing the Democratic nomination after Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Instead, Obama pushed for an open primary before endorsing Harris.
• The book claims Nancy Pelosi discouraged Biden from debating Trump and had concerns about Harris taking the nomination.
• The book also details alleged observations of Biden’s cognitive decline and efforts to hide signs of aging.

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A new book claims that after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, former President Barack Obama doubted Vice President Kamala Harris could win and opposed her receiving the Democratic nomination.

According to the book, Obama instead pushed for an open primary.

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Behind-the-scenes efforts

NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen and The Hill reporter Amie Parnes discussed their new book on MSNBC.

“He also didn’t want Kamala Harris to be the replacement for Biden,” Allen said. “He didn’t think that she was the best choice for Democrats, and he 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. He was really working against her.”

Allen and Parnes allege that on the day Biden dropped out of the race, Obama spoke with Harris but was not willing to endorse her. The book also claims Obama was “working the phones” against Harris in the days leading up to his eventual public endorsement, which came five days after Biden’s withdrawal.

“In one moment, he had set up a phone call with Congressman [Jim] Clyburn from South Carolina on the day that Joe Biden handed off the baton to Kamala Harris, and Obama had set up a call with Clyburn for 5:30 that afternoon. Clyburn thought to himself, this guy’s going to try to rope me into the open convention thing. I better get my endorsement of Harris out there fast, so this is a short conversation,” the book states.

Pelosi’s concerns in the book

Other revelations from the book are also gaining attention.

Allen claims former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not want Biden to debate President Donald Trump and advised him against it. Biden’s poor debate performance was seen as a turning point in the 2024 election.

The book also alleged Pelosi had doubts about Harris and did not want her to be automatically handed the nomination.

Concerns over Biden’s health

Parnes told “Face the Nation” that the book details accounts from individuals who observed what they described as a “cognitive decline” in Biden and efforts to conceal “signs of aging.”

“We found out that he wasn’t recognizing people he should’ve recognized. There was an effort to put makeup on him before international events… he often missed meetings to have the makeup done. So you start to peel back the layers of what was really happening,” Parnes said.

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Book release and responses

The book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” was released on April 1.

As of this report, Obama, Harris, Biden and Pelosi have not commented on Allen and Parnes’ claims in the book.