Harris says Buttigieg 'first choice' for VP in 2024 but proved 'too risky'

[TheProle]

Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed in her upcoming book that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” for a running mate in her 2024 presidential run, but that he would have proved “too risky.”

The Atlantic reported on an excerpt of her book “107 Days” on Wednesday, detailing Harris’s assessment that Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.”

“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” the former vice president wrote. “Part of me wanted to say, ‘Screw it, let’s just do it.’ But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”

“And I think Pete also knew that — to our mutual sadness,” she added.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5509514-harris-buttigieg-2024-election-running-mate/

[milestogo]

1. The fascist who is singlehandedly destroying our country

turned out to be very risky.

[dalton99a]

2. America is going backwards and will be stuck in Reverse for a long time.

[WarGamer]

3. Be brave... they also said Obama "had no chance"

And he was one of the greats.

[TheProle]

5. K&R

I'm not down at all with some of the Democrats who caution against diversity at the top of the ticket in '28.

[WarGamer]

6. Pete is brilliant and kind... a mixture in DC that's nearly unheard of.

Might be the world's only politician without a whiff of arrogance.

[Abolishinist]

10. So true.

One of the things I've noticed, and now when he's on air I pay closer attention to, is that he never (or hardly ever?) interrupts a sentence by repeating a word twice in succesion, or putting in a 'uh' or 'well' or similar pregnant pause. It's like he has his own internal teleprompter going for him.

We attended a private fund-raising appearance by him at a residence down the street from us several years ago, he was incredible. My wife cherishes the picture taken of the two of them together.

[stopdiggin]

4. the honest and unvarnished truth.

And (if put in a position to advise) would have been the prescription that the majority of the party, and potential support, would have offered at the time as well.

One more time - for those that continue with their rewrite of history - Harris did not lose this race over a failure to be 'bold' or take 'risks'. She (and we) lost because a carnival barker and bully more nearly fit the mood (and whims?) of the country at the time - than any perceived rational choice. Full stop.

[Mark.b2]

7. It's better in the long-run for his name to be untarnished with 2024...

he has more upside in the future than Walz.

[TheProle]

8. Buttigieg responds to Harris' VP snub: You earn voters' trust on 'what they think you're going to do,' not 'on categorie

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — Pete Buttigieg said he believes in “giving Americans more credit” than assuming they couldn’t vote for a Black woman and a gay man on the same presidential ticket, as former Vice President Kamala Harris asserts in her new book.

The former Transportation secretary told POLITICO Thursday that he was “surprised” to read a passage from Harris’ upcoming book that said Buttigieg was her first choice for a running mate and “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.”

“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg said minutes before a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Monroe County Democratic Party headquarters.

The divergence comes as their party is grappling with its approach to diversity, as the Trump administration slashes through diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Democrats disagree about how much to emphasize such values after the GOP successfully painted the party as too “woke” — and now face new questions over how to field winning candidates.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/18/buttigieg-harris-runing-mate-107-days-00571954

[iemanja]

9. My view is that the US electorate

would elect a gay man before a woman.

Regardless of his sexuality, Pete is a great spokesman for our party.