Kamala Harris says her 2024 debate prep included bracing for the possibility of crude personal attacks from Donald Trump.
In her new book, 107 Days, the former vice president describes running mock debates in the basement of Howard University, guided by advisers and a trial attorney she likened to a “wartime consigliere.” At the time, Harris was preparing to face JD Vance in a vice-presidential debate before Joe Biden dropped out of the race that July, thrusting her into a showdown with Trump instead.
Part of her prep, she writes, involved rehearsing how to respond if Trump tried to weaponize personal topics. “He might ask you if you’ve ever had an abortion,” one adviser warned. Harris’s ready reply: “That’s none of your business and that’s not what we’re here for.”
She recalled another adviser half-jokingly suggesting she hit back by asking if Trump took Viagra, or if he had ever paid for an abortion. While the two clashed on abortion policy during their debate, Trump never ventured into that personal territory. “In the end, he didn’t go down that track,” Harris writes. “He probably knew a question like that would be exceedingly thin ice for him—and would infuriate just about every woman in America.”
Harris also explained her prep method. Her team drafted debate cards for every possible angle, which she memorized and then marked with “a big, loopy X” once she internalized them. “I am not a trained seal; I’m not going to memorize lines and spout them,” she wrote. “I have to understand the logic and building blocks of every argument so I can present it clearly and defend it persuasively.”
Her memoir reflects on the 107 days she spent as a presidential candidate after Biden bowed out. Harris ultimately failed to gain traction against Trump, losing all seven battleground states in the November 2024 election.