Obama ‘Worked Behind the Scenes’ to Derail Kamala Harris’ 2024 Candidacy: Report

Former President Barack Obama “did not have faith” that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris could defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 election and actively “worked behind the scenes” to try and set up a “mini-primary” after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, a new book claims.

The book, FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, details the chaos behind the Democratic Party’s scramble to replace Biden, offering the stunning twist that Obama did not want Harris to run.

While Obama eventually endorsed Harris five days after Biden handed her the reins — the reporting paints a picture of deep skepticism at the very top of the Democratic establishment.

NBC political reporter Jonathan Allen, who co-authored the book with The Hill senior correspondent Amie Parnes, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday that sources told them Obama “didn’t think that she was the best choice for Democrats” and lobbied for an open convention instead.

So President Obama absolutely did not think that Joe Biden should continue, according to our sources close to President Obama. And he also didn’t want Kamala Harris to be the replacement for Biden. 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 mini primary leading to an open convention. He did not have faith in her ability to win the election. So and as it turned out, she didn’t win, but he was really working against her.

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 like 5:30 that afternoon. And Clyburn thought to himself, ‘this guy is 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 and when Harris talked to Obama on the day that Biden handed off to her, Obama was unwilling to give his endorsement then.

Watch above via MSNBC.