In her first public appearance since releasing her campaign memoir, former Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to elaborate on her decision to pass over Pete Buttigieg as a running mate because of his sexual orientation.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pressed Harris during a Monday night interview on her hesitancy to choose a gay running mate, explaining that it was “hard to hear … that [Buttigieg] couldn’t be on the ticket, effectively because he was gay.”
Harris immediately pushed back on Maddow’s comment, arguing that, while she is not bigoted against gay people, she didn’t believe a black woman and a gay man would be successful in a nation election, implying that a significant portion of the American electorate is bigoted.
“My point, as I write in the book, is that I was clear that in 107 days in one of the most hotly contested elections for president of the United States, against someone like Donald Trump, who knows no floor,” Harris said. “To be a black woman running for president of the United States, and as a vice presidential running mate, a gay man, with the stakes being so high, it made me very sad, but I also realize it would be a real risk.”
Maddow presses Harris on Buttigieg: to say that he couldn’t be on the ticket effectively because he was gay. It’s hard to hear.
Harris: No, no, no, that’s not what I said…it wasn’t about any prejudice on my part, but we had such a short period of time. pic.twitter.com/ZrM5TYm8rL
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 23, 2025
Harris then touted her status as an ally of the LGBTQ community, insisting that “it wasn’t about any prejudice on my part.”
In an excerpt of her book, 107 Days, published in The Atlantic, Harris said that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was not her first choice as a running mate, explaining that she did consider Buttigieg instead, but went with Walz because of the risk it would pose to have a black woman and a gay man on the same ticket.
Harris writes that she was “already asking a lot of America.” Buttigieg, she argued, “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.”
Buttigieg responded to the excerpts of the book with surprise.
“I just believe in giving Americans more credit than that,” Buttigieg told Politico. “My experience in politics has been the way that you earn trust with the voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories. I wouldn’t have run for president if I didn’t believe that.”
There is widespread speculation among the political class that Buttigieg will launch another campaign for president in the 2028 cycle, with the former South Bend mayor saying he is considering running.
A recent poll for the years-off primary in New Hampshire revealed that Buttigieg tied with California Governor Gavin Newsom among Democrats, with 23 percent of support. In that same poll, Harris received 6 percent.
“I think Pete is a phenomenal public servant,” Harris told Maddow. “I think America is and would be ready for that, but when I had to make that decision, with two weeks to go, maybe I was being too cautious … but that’s the decision I made.”