Who is Willie Brown? POTUS had 'concerns' about Kamala Harris's TRYST with mentor 31 years senior
A new book has claimed First Lady Jill Biden had reservations about her husband President Joe Biden selecting Kamala Harris as his running mate in 2020.
New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns wrote in their forthcoming book 'This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future' how the FLOTUS expressed her disapproval of the selection of Harris after the latter slammed her husband in the first Democratic primary debate. According to a copy of the book obtained by Fox News, the first lady said "there are millions of people in the United States" and wondered "why do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe."
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Harris openly attacked Biden at the primary debate in June 2019 as the future president was taking criticism for working with segregationists in Congress. Biden said, "At least there was some civility. We got things done," after which Harris told him, "I do not believe you are racist" but said his remarks were "hurtful" as she accused him of working with segregationists in the Senate "to oppose busing." It's true that Biden opposed busing in the 1970s when it was a controversial measure to racially integrate schools. At one point, Harris memorably remarked, "There was a little girl in California who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me."
Sen. Kamala Harris discusses race and calls out Joe Biden for opposing busing. "It cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats," she says, "we have to take it seriously." #DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/43Nzspluio
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 28, 2019
Who is Willie Brown?
The new book 'This Will Not Pass' claims Biden himself had reservations about picking Harris, describing her "past romantic relationship with Willie Brown, the California politician who appointed Harris to a pair of minor political positions," as "the kind of thing that should be off-limits." Harris began dating Brown at the start of her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office before the latter went on to serve as San Francisco's mayor between 1994 and 1995. Brown was 60 when he was dating a 29-year-old Harris. A formidable figure in California politics, he was serving as speaker of the state assembly while his girlfriend was just getting started in politics. Brown was legally married during their relationship but had been separated from his wife for more than a decade. Both Harris and Brown were quite open about their relationship and were often spotted in public together.
According to the book, despite the Bidens' concerns about Harris, she had her supporters embedded in the Biden campaign. White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who at the time was tasked with vetting vice-presidential candidates, told Biden that Harris was the most qualified for the job. "Yes, Harris had attacked Biden more harshly than any other major candidate in the Democratic primaries. Yes, the Biden family had seen it as a smear and a betrayal. In Klain's assessment, that would work to Biden's advantage," the book states. "Choosing Harris will show people that you are magnanimous and forgiving, Klain told Biden. It will show the country just what a unifying leader you can be."
However, since taking office last year, the Veep has been the subject of negative headlines, sinking approval ratings, as well as an exodus of top staffers from her office. That said, the new book reportedly also chimes in on other details of tension and chaos in Harris's office. One leaked excerpt talks about how the VP allegedly kicked up a fuss over a Vogue cover that pictured her in sneakers, before Biden's office told her to back down and described her concerns as "first world problems." Furthermore, the book alleges Harris sent out her chief of staff to rebuke Biden's staffers for not standing up to greet her when she entered the room, as they did for the president. Meanwhile, some in her office also bemoaned the President's "all-white inner circle."