Biden’s delayed exit doomed Harris’s run
3 Min Read
A new book claims that Joe Biden’s delayed 2024 election exit sabotaged Harris’s campaign and enabled Trump’s return.
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Former US President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, February 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Former US President Joe Biden’s hesitation to exit the 2024 race cost Kamala Harris her shot at defeating Donald Trump, according to David Plouffe, a key advisor to her campaign and a former Obama campaign strategist.
His remarks are featured in Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson.
“He totally f***** us,” Plouffe is quoted as saying in the book, obtained by The Guardian. He described Harris’s 107-day campaign as a "nightmare" and placed direct blame on Biden’s refusal to step aside earlier, even after his disastrous debate performance in June 2024 raised concerns about Biden's mental sharpness and age.
Plouffe, who joined Harris’s campaign after Biden dropped out in July, said he had already fielded calls from worried donors well before Biden exited the race. Many expressed doubts about the president’s energy levels, memory lapses, and speech delivery.
Despite such concerns, the White House and Democratic Party insisted to Plouffe that Biden could win re-election. However, the authors of Original Sin interviewed nearly 200 sources, including White House aides, lawmakers, and Democratic strategists, many of whom privately acknowledged Biden’s decline and the effort to keep it hidden from the public.
NEWS: @jaketapper and I wrote a book and I’m damn proud of it.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) February 26, 2025
It’s about Biden’s decline, its cover-up, and how it allowed Trump to return.
Pre-orders are really important these days so I’d be grateful if you ordered early. Like right now.https://t.co/qAo1lYdfqK pic.twitter.com/gorGFYGjeE
One former White House aide admitted, “We attempted to shield him from his own staff, so many people didn’t realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.”
Another source, a senior strategist, went further, “He stole an election from the Democratic Party; he stole it from the American people.”
Cover-up allegations and party pressure
The book asserts that since 2022, Biden has increasingly struggled with memory, speech clarity, and mental focus. Aides reportedly had to record short speeches with multiple cameras to disguise the extent of his cognitive issues.
It also documents repeated attempts by Democratic figures to urge Biden to reconsider. Former US President Barack Obama reportedly told him, “Just make sure you can win the race,” during a private 2023 meeting at the White House.
High-profile Democratic donor Ari Emanuel is said to have confronted Biden ally Ron Klain, yelling at him, “Joe Biden cannot run for re-election! He needs to drop out! He can’t win! What’s the plan B?” Klain reportedly had no answer.
Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also pressed Biden to withdraw during a meeting at his Rehoboth Beach residence after the June debate. Schumer warned that a Trump victory would destroy Biden’s legacy.
Too late for Harris
Biden eventually stepped aside on July 21 and endorsed Kamala Harris. However, according to the authors, the damage had already been done. Harris’s rushed campaign was undermined by the delay, leaving her little time to recover or mount a viable challenge.
Despite subsequent efforts to restore his image, through media appearances and a new public relations team, Original Sin contends that Biden’s late withdrawal enabled the very outcome he sought to prevent: the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
