Former Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly was furious when she saw a video of President Joe Biden wearing a “Trump 2024” hat during an event at the Shanksville Fire Station in Pennsylvania last September. According to a new book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” Harris asked her team, “What is he doing?” and deemed the act “completely unhelpful. And so unnecessary.” The incident, which went viral on social media, showed Biden taking the hat from a Trump supporter and briefly wearing it as a gesture of unity.
A Gesture of Unity or Unhelpful Moment?
The White House later clarified that Biden’s actions were meant to promote unity, recalling the bipartisan spirit that followed the 9/11 attacks. However, the moment seemed to strain Harris’s relationship with Biden, marking the last time she would appear at a public event with him before the election. The book also highlights other missteps by Biden, including calling Trump supporters “garbage” during a campaign call for Harris, which she later distanced herself from.
More Missteps from the Biden Campaign
The book reveals that several 2024 campaign videos featuring Biden were deemed “unusable” due to his struggles, including a planned town hall-style video shoot where he had trouble answering questions. Despite efforts to stage a natural Q&A session, Biden’s team ultimately scrapped the footage, attributing the issues to his performance rather than technical problems.
