Biden aides warned donors dropping out and running Kamala Harris would be a mistake: Book

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Aides to President Biden told Democratic donors that it would be a "mistake" for him to drop out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to an upcoming book.

The Guardian published excerpts on Thursday from "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House," which detailed tensions between Biden and Harris ahead of him dropping out of the presidential race in July.

The excerpts showed Biden’s team "aggressively" pushed back against donors who considered removing him from the race over concerns about his age. One of the ways allegedly included warning that Harris as the replacement Democratic nominee would be a "mistake."

The upcoming book "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House" details tension between Biden aides and Democratic donors over potentially replacing him with Vice President Kamala Harris. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

"One donor on the receiving end of an electronic message summed up the sentiments of Biden’s top aides: ‘They were aggressively saying that we would wind up with the vice-president and that would be a mistake,’" the excerpt read.

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A source also told the book's authors, NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen and The Hill reporter Amie Parnes, that Biden aides emphatically felt "no one wants" Harris as a candidate even if Biden left.

"The last threat, the ace in the hole, was Kamala Harris. Even if Biden did drop out and you got your dreamed-up open convention, you would only succeed in nominating the vice-president," the source said. "Is that what you want? You want her? Look at her polling. No one wants her. Forget it. It’s never gonna happen."

Despite his aides’ defense, the book reported Biden wasn't doing well just two days after his infamous presidential debate against then-candidate Donald Trump in June. In a donors’ reception hosted by then-New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Biden needed florescent tape as "colorful bread crumbs [that] showed the leader of the free world where to walk."

President Biden reportedly looked unwell during a donors' meeting after his disastrous debate last year with Donald Trump. (AP/Susan Walsh)

"He knows to look for that," one aide told Parnes and Allen.

Additional excerpts released by The Guardian on Wednesday showed Biden also reportedly needed an "autocue" to give "unscripted" remarks, with the authors writing that he "didn't look well." Even with the Biden team pushing back against Harris, Democrats appeared largely resigned to Harris.

‘Well, at least she has a pulse," one veteran operative summarized.

After Biden dropped out of the race in July, he endorsed Harris and she swiftly sewed up the nomination with no opposition. She went on to lose the general election to Trump.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Biden and Harris for a comment.

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An excerpt of the book released by The Hill earlier this month also showed Biden had "expected Harris to protect his legacy" as she ran for president and wanted "no daylight" between them on her campaign.

"He would say publicly that Harris should do what she must to win. But privately, including in conversations with her, he repeated an admonition: let there be no daylight between us," the authors wrote.

Biden insisted there would be "no daylight" between his record and Harris' during her campaign. (Getty Images)

"Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House" will be released in April.

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