Kamala Harris Criticized Anderson Cooper After Their Interview About Joe Biden's Performance in Presidential Debate in 2024, Book Claims

The former vice president defended Joe Biden during a tense interview, a moment that revealed her deep loyalty to a leader who now finds himself grappling with serious health challenges.

Kamala Harris didn't hold back after a post-debate interview with Anderson Cooper in 2024, according to a new book, and her reaction allegedly included an expletive aimed directly at the CNN anchor.

In "Original Sin," a political book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson, the former vice president is said to have privately cursed Cooper after what she reportedly felt was an unfair and tense exchange.

This reportedly occurred after a June 2024 interview in which Cooper pressed her about former President Joe Biden's widely criticized performance during his debate with President Donald Trump.

During the heated exchange, Cooper told Harris there were Democratic lawmakers who lamented Biden's performance, "One said it was a disaster and another called it a trainwreck. Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump's lies."

Following the interview, according to "Original Sin," Harris reportedly vented to colleagues, "This mother[expletive] doesn't treat me like the [expletive] vice president of the United States. I thought we were better than that."

In the interview, Harris argued that the focus should be on substance rather than debate performance, but Cooper pressed further, pointing out that Biden seemed very different compared to when she debated him four years earlier.

The former Vice President pushed back, rejecting the idea that the debate reflected any cognitive decline on Biden's side, and instead highlighted their administration's achievements.

As the exchange grew more tense, Kamala Harris appeared visibly frustrated with Cooper's line of questioning, especially as he repeatedly cut her off before she could fully respond.

When asked if the man on the debate stage was the same person she'd been working with in the White House, she snapped, "I'm not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I‘ve been watching the last three-and-a-half years of performance."

However, Harris acknowledged that Biden had a "slow start" but maintained that his broader track record, including efforts to rebuild the economy, should carry more weight than a single debate performance.

Tapper and Thompson's book backed up reports of Harris' frustration following the exchange. They wrote, "After the interview, Harris was visibly angry with Cooper. He had been asking the questions the nation had been wondering, but she took it personally."

"Original Sin" paints a grim picture of Biden's state ahead of the 2024 debate. According to the book, he appeared "rusty" and struggled significantly during preparation sessions at Camp David.

On the first day of debate prep, he reportedly napped through the entire schedule his team had planned. Throughout the practice week, his responses were said to fluctuate in quality, and his speech was often hard to follow.

Staff members became increasingly concerned as Biden's delivery remained uneven, his voice grew weaker, and his ability to stay on message wavered. They even advised him to close his mouth when he wasn't speaking, as it often hung open.

The book also notes, "His voice got raspier as the week went on, to the point that aides couldn't hear him during mock sessions. Biden kept asking for more cough drops." A cold eventually set in, something he later cited as the reason for his poor debate showing.

While some of his allies attributed his challenges to a childhood stutter, others noted that he had previously spoken fluidly during his time as senator and vice president. Despite attempts to manage the optics, including carefully edited videos and strategic camera angles, the efforts were unable to conceal deeper concerns about his fitness for the role.

The book also claims his team worked to shield him from intense public scrutiny by scaling down his video appearances, sometimes reducing planned five-minute remarks to just one or two minutes.

Ultimately, the debate Harris sought to defend ultimately became the tipping point in Biden's campaign — the moment that led to his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race amid mounting pressure from fellow Democrats. In stepping aside, he threw his support behind Harris as the party's new nominee.

Now, "Original Sin" covers Biden's decision to seek re-election despite visible signs of decline, framing it as one of the most consequential missteps in recent American political history.

Described as an unflinching exposé, the book by veteran journalists Tapper and Thompson delves into the behind-the-scenes conversations among top Democrats, revealing how aware many were of the problem.

It also reveals how the Democratic insiders wrestled privately with the severity of the issue, and how the choice to push forward sparked a campaign of denial and deflection. According to the authors, that decision, referred to as the "original sin" of Biden's presidency, ultimately opened the door to Trump's return to power and the fallout that has followed.

One of the book's authors, Tapper, gave an interview in which he was asked what convinced him that Biden was no longer capable of handling the policy side of the presidency, not just the optics. Tapper clarified that the concern wasn't his or his co-author Thompson's personal judgment, but rather what people close to Biden had expressed.

He said "Original Sin" includes accounts from cabinet secretaries who, by the end of Joe Biden's presidency, no longer believed he could handle a 2 a.m. national security emergency.

US senators also shared private encounters that made them question whether Biden was still up to speed on issues like terrorism and immigration. These concerns, Tapper stressed, came from individuals who genuinely cared about and supported Biden.

Now, it's not just concerns about Biden's cognitive abilities drawing attention — his physical health is also under strain. The former president has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has already spread to his bones, according to a statement from his personal office.

The cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9, is reportedly hormone-sensitive, which may allow for it to be managed with treatment. At 82, Biden is said to be consulting with doctors and family members to determine the best course of action moving forward.

“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” the former president wrote in a post on X on Monday.

The X post was accompanied by a photo of him with his wife, Jill Biden — a quiet but powerful reminder that she has remained by his side through both triumphs and trials.