Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed her debate preparation against Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle included how to handle a handful of crude hypothetical attacks on abortion and Viagra use, according to her new book, ‘107 Days.’
Bolstered by a team of advisers and a veteran trial attorney Harris compared to a ‘wartime consigliere,’ the then-vice president traveled to the basement of Howard University, her undergraduate alma mater, to prepare for her debate against Trump. Harris had prepped to debate JD Vance in a vice presidential debate ahead of then-President Joe Biden dropping out of the race in July 2024.
Amid typical debate prep focused on providing Harris with intimate knowledge of topics so she could effectively present her argument on stage, she also was trained for the ‘the painful matter of imagining what kinds of personal attacks Trump might mount against me.’
”He might ask you if you’ve ever had an abortion,’ one adviser said,’ Harris wrote of her time devising her debate strategies.
‘If he did, the response would be: That’s none of your business and that’s not what we’re here for,’ she continued.
Harris continued that another individual in the debate prep room floated ‘a dark joke that if he got that personal, I should ask if he took Viagra.’
‘Another: Had he ever paid for an abortion?’ she continued.
The pair were asked about abortion during the debate, but it never culminated into personal attacks on hypothetical abortions or Viagra use.
‘In the end, he didn’t go down that track. He probably knew a question like that would be exceedingly thin ice for him—and would infuriate just about every woman in America,’ Harris wrote.
Harris added that her team wrote a debate card ‘for every nuance of every subject, and once I memorized what was on that card, I’d draw a big, loopy X across it.’
‘I am not a trained seal; I’m not going to memorize lines and spout them. I have to understand the logic and building blocks of every argument so I can present it clearly and defend it persuasively,’ she wrote.
Harris’ book, ‘107 Days,’ hit shelves Tuesday and reflects on the 107 days she had on the presidential campaign trail after Biden dropped out of the race amid mounting concern over his mental acuity.
Harris failed to rally enough support to defeat Trump, losing each of the seven battleground states Nov. 4, 2024.