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New York City — Former Vice President Kamala Harris played up her relationship with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she kicked off her book tour promoting “107 Days,” a memoir on the 2024 race that has deepened Harris’ divide with former President Joe Biden and his orbit.
“We all hope to be mentored. We all hope to have support from those who come before. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. And certainly that’s true of politics. Hillary Clinton is one of those people that believes in lifting people up and supporting people,” Harris said from the stage of The Town Hall, a theater venue in midtown Manhattan, where she kicked off her book tour that will take her across the country in the coming weeks.
“And she follows through,” Harris said.
Harris released her new book Tuesday, which reflects on her experiences on the 2024 campaign trail as the Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024, amid mounting concerns over his mental acuity.
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The 300-page memoir takes a handful of shots at Biden and his leadership as president, including arguing it was reckless for the octogenarian president to run for re-election, describing that Biden staffers did little to defend her from negative press when she served as vice president, as well as critiques of Biden’s botched debate against Donald Trump that ultimately served as a death knell for Biden’s re-election efforts.
The book, including excerpts that were released in the lead-up to it hitting store shelves, set off condemnation from former White House staffers who claimed Harris was attempting to scapegoat Biden instead of owning her own alleged failures.
Harris told the crowds at the theater that the book was not focused on Biden, but instead on her personal experiences on the campaign trail, and her efforts to “fight” and “win.”
And as she launched that fight, she said, Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton, had been rallying support for her campaign since the moment Biden dropped out.
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Harris set the scene for the day Biden dropped out, telling the audience that she was in the midst of cooking a pancake breakfast for her young great-nieces who were enjoying the last days of their summer before they headed back to school, when she got a number from a blocked call.
“I got my old Howard sweatshirt on … so I was there in my sweats when my phone rang from a blocked number and there’s only one person who did that. So I answered the phone, ‘Hey Joe, Mr. President,’ and, and then he told me he wasn’t gonna run,” she said.
“And so then all hell broke loose,” she continued.
Harris said she began making calls, including to the Clintons’ home phone number.
“So I have their home number, for Hillary and Bill, and it was the cutest thing. So I called and Hillary picked up and then Bill was in the other room, and she’s like, ‘It’s Kamala on the phone, Bill, pick up the other phone,'” she recounted.
Harris said that the former first couple immediately offered to travel to campaign for her presidential ticket, including taking public transportation.
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The former vice president included anecdotes of the exchange in her book as well, saying Hillary Clinton offered to hop on an Amtrak train to help her campaign, while Bill Clinton told her, “Send me anywhere.”
“Hillary: We’re thrilled the president endorsed you. We’ll do whatever we can—we’ll jump on a plane, we’ll get on Amtrak. I want to be part of your war council,” her book reads, according to notes she jotted down during the call.
“Bill: Oh my God, I’m so relieved! Send me anywhere. Make this your own campaign,” the book added of the former president’s reaction.
Harris focused her talk Wednesday evening on the future of the party, her support of “rising stars” among Democrat politicians, as well as providing readers a real-life discussion of the anecdotes on her failed 2024 election. The event yielded a packed house, as well as pro-Gaza protesters who banged drums and chanted outside the venue during the event, including accusing Harris of “setting Palestine on fire” amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Harris’ book tour launch included continuing claims that the 2024 election was “the closest” of this century, as well as a handful of attacks on Trump, including lambasting him as one who “lied” to the public on the campaign trail about bringing costs down for Americans.
“It was the closest election in the 21st Century. It was one of the top three closest elections in the last century. So for all those pundits who want to say that America is not ready for a woman to be president, I reject that,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hillary Clinton’s office Thursday morning for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
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