Rahm Emanuel critiques Harris on Buttigieg pick; Harris discusses risk in new book
Former Chicago mayor says Harris should have trusted her gut; Harris explains decision in 107 Days
Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel critiqued Vice President Kamala Harris’ approach to selecting a running mate, saying she was wrong to skip Pete Buttigieg and urging her to trust her gut. Emanuel, appearing on CNN's The Arena, framed choosing a vice president as a high-stakes judgment call rather than a purely political calculation, and he stressed that a president must rely on someone who can truly function as a copilot in the White House.
In her new book 107 Days, Harris writes that Buttigieg was her first choice for the 2024 ticket but that the pairing was too risky to pursue. She notes that Buttigieg would have been an ideal partner – if I were a straight white man, and she adds that part of her wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.
Emanuel described the decision as a cabinet room test—the moment a president-to-be moves from the cabinet room into the Oval Office, seeks candid input, and must decide whether to trust the copilot’s judgment even when discussions get tense. He said the key question is who is the one person you can totally trust as copilot, and that the judgment call hinges on comfort and trust, given the inevitable tradeoffs among potential running mates.
Harris has publicly addressed the matter as well. On MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, she emphasized that her decision was not about Buttigieg’s sexual orientation but about political risk in a campaign conducted over a 107-day sprint. She said that while Buttigieg’s credentials were strong, the era’s dynamics could complicate a bid. In interviews such as The View, she said she didn’t have enough time to win in 2024, reiterating that the decision was driven by stakes, not prejudice.
Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’s office for comment, but there was no immediate response as she continues promoting her book and addressing questions about the 2024 race and internal White House discussions about the vice presidency.
