When an Angry Jill Biden Said Kamala Harris Should ‘Go F–K Herself' for Debate Attack on Joe Biden

Joe Biden's now-VP Kamala Harris allegedly got on the wrong side of his wife when she criticized him for his busing record and boasted about his ties to segregationist senators. According to Politico's report, Jill Biden let her frustrations out on a group phone call with supporters one week later, saying Harris could 'go f-ck herself.'

According to author Edward-Isaac Dovere, this happened after Joe had given a speech in which he reflected on his early days in office and sought to highlight his track record as a negotiator. Harris, who was not his Vice President then, criticized Biden's record of opposing federally mandated interracial busing to desegregate schools.

Then, Jill directly attacked Harris and said at the time, "With what he cares about, what he fights for, what he’s committed to, you get up there and call him a racist without basis? Go f–k yourself." By that stage in the campaign, Joe's complex and lengthy record on racial justice issues, such as school busing and criminal justice, was drawing a lot of attention from the media, thanks in part to the opposition research conducted by Harris' team, as per the book. At a fundraiser in New York City just before the debate, Joe made some controversial remarks about the 'civility' he remembered from his time working with senators he disagreed with, including two Democrats who had backed segregation.

As reported by CNN, Joe said at the time, "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy,' he always called me 'son.' Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore."

In her confrontation with the now-president during the debate, Harris—who is biracial—said: "I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground, but it's personal and it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country."

As reported in the aforementioned Politico report, Harris criticized Biden for his contentious stance on school busing. She added, "It was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day. That little girl was me. So I will tell you that on this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats."

Biden, at the time, responded, "It's a mischaracterization of my position across the board. I do not praise racists. That is not true," as per ABC News. After the debate ended, leaning to his right, then-candidate Biden said, "Well, that was some f---ing bullshit," to Pete Buttigieg, who was also a contender in 2020 but is now Biden's transportation secretary.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 2, 2023. It has since been updated.