Biden and Harris aren’t as close as you think. In fact, their relationship is in a rough spot right now.
And Joe Biden snubbed Kamala Harris with this cold move that left her furious.
Former President Joe Biden appears to have no interest in mending fences with his onetime running mate. According to Kamala Harris, the man she once stood beside on the 2020 ticket didn’t even pick up the phone when she reached out after news broke that he was undergoing radiation treatment.
“I called him earlier,” Harris said to MSNBC’s The Weekend. “I have not talked to him. I just left him a message after I heard the news.”
She repeated, “I have not talked to him. I just left him a message after I heard the news.”
Trying to strike a gracious note, Harris added, “I think Joe Biden is a fighter, and that is what I told him. He’s going to fight this, and we’re going to hold him up and pray for his recovery and for his strength and for his family.”
But the pleasantries come on the heels of months of political backbiting and personal grievances between the two. Just last month, Harris released her memoir 107 Days, chronicling her disastrous 2024 presidential run — the shortest in modern history — and offering a blistering view of her old boss. She even called Biden’s decision to seek reelection “recklessness.”
She also described how Biden harassed her before her debate against President Trump, accusing her of trashing him to donors. For a party that once sold itself as a beacon of unity, the cracks are now impossible to ignore.
Harris told MSNBC she had talked to Biden about her book but refused to say what was said. “I’m not going to tell you,” she teased while flashing a grin.
Meanwhile, Biden’s health woes are stacking up. His office confirmed he’s now undergoing five weeks of radiation therapy, in addition to hormone treatments he was already taking. The former president, according to his team, is “doing well.” But his diagnosis is grim: an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
Back in August, he also had skin cancer removed from his forehead and was photographed with a bandage.
Since leaving the White House, Biden has kept largely out of view, ducking questions about his failed presidency and the internal Democrat revolt that forced him from the 2024 race. Harris, for her part, has done little to hide her resentment over how she was treated during and after the campaign.
Even as she promotes her book, Harris offers few signs of reconciliation with Biden or other party heavyweights. Reports have long circulated that Biden clashed with figures like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — part of the establishment rebellion that pushed him to finally abandon his reelection bid.
Harris herself had held her tongue during her fleeting tenure as the Democrat nominee, refusing to criticize Biden directly. But that restraint has vanished. Now she joins the growing number of Democrats openly blasting Biden’s stubbornness in running again — a move many inside the party blame for their electoral implosion.
And yet, Harris couldn’t resist taking another shot at Donald Trump. While plugging her memoir, she tried to relitigate her failed campaign by throwing shade at his record. But when pressed about Trump’s recent diplomatic success — the peace deal between Israel and Hamas — Harris hesitated to go full partisan.
“I don’t think that we should hold in credit where it’s due,” Harris stated. “I really do hope it [the deal] becomes real and that the hostages are out, that Gaza is no longer being treated with such brutality of force that aid goes in.”
In the same breath, she added, “I commend the people who have been a part of this process. I commend the Qataris, the Egyptians and the president.”
That moment of reluctant praise speaks volumes. Even Harris, who built her career railing against Trump, couldn’t deny the effectiveness of his leadership when it came to achieving what Democrats never could — peace and stability in the Middle East.
For all her attempts to rewrite history, Americans haven’t forgotten who delivered results and who delivered excuses. Biden is battling his own decline — physical, political, and moral — while his former vice president clings to relevance through book tours and cable interviews.
The Democratic Party’s house is divided, its old leaders sick, bitter, and fighting among themselves. Meanwhile, the man they all tried to destroy continues to shape history.
