Barack Obama Pressured Joe Biden to Choose Kamala Harris as His Running Mate, New Book Claims

Kamala Harris was not President Joe Biden's first choice as his running mate, according to a new book.

Biden allegedly thought she "was not up to the job," but President Barack Obama was said to have encouraged the 81-year-old to choose Harris.

The current sitting president allegedly preferred Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as his running mate in 2020, however, he reportedly caved to public pressure.

Veteran Washington journalist Charlie Spiering made the stunning revelation in his latest book, Amateur Hour: Kamala Harris in the White House. In the book, he wrote Biden chose Harris days before that year’s virtual Democratic National Convention after promising to select a woman.

The book further revealed Harris was also not Dr. Jill Biden's top pick to be her husband's running mate. She allegedly favored former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice for the role. She told a number of supporters that she was "bitter" with Harris after the first Democratic primary debate in 2020.

Spiering wrote about her "bullying" of White House staff and "refusal to be a team player" with the rest of the administration.

Spiering pointed out how Harris was the only black woman in the U.S. Senate and later “seized the opportunity to boost her profile” in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May 2020.

According to the book, the protests and riots that followed Floyd’s tragic death continued throughout the summer of 2020 and allegedly swung opinions that Biden’s eventual running mate pick would be a black woman, not just a woman.

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As OK! previously reported, Harris and Biden recently had their first joint 2024 campaign event together. During the speaking engagement, Biden and Harris discussed abortion and how Trump was responsible for "taking away freedom in America," but it was disrupted several times by protests over Israel's war in Gaza. One person shouted, "Shame on you!"

"This is going to go on for a while; they got this planned," the Democratic president said as the protestors were escorted out one by one.

According to Real Clear Politics, the 2024 presidential election is panning out to be a close race. Trump is holding a slight lead over Biden, with the GOP frontrunner polling nationally at 47.3% compared to the Biden's 43.5%.