Kamala Harris said Pete Buttigieg wasn’t her VP choice since he is gay – and now it’s a controversy that she can’t undo

Comedian and podcast host Jon Stewart has criticized former Vice President Kamala Harris over her explanation for not picking Pete Buttigieg as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election. The controversy comes from her new book, 107 Days, where she admitted that having a gay man as her vice presidential pick would have been too risky for her campaign.

According to Fox News, Harris wrote in her book that Buttigieg was her first choice for running mate but she decided against him in the end. She explained that America was already being asked to accept a woman, a Black woman, and a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Harris stated, “Part of me wanted to say, ‘Screw it, let’s just do it.’ But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.” She added that Buttigieg also understood this, saying the situation made them both sad.

During a Thursday episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, the host talked about the issue with Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin. When Martin said that voters have lost trust in the Democratic Party because they feel officials don’t actually believe what they’re selling, Stewart connected this directly to Harris’s decision. “To my point, in [her new book ‘107 Days’] when she says, ‘I didn’t go with Pete Buttigieg because he’s gay and that’d be too far,’ and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, it’s actually reverse affirmative action.’ It’s like, ‘What?'” Stewart said.

Harris faces strong criticism over VP pick reasoning

The former vice president has received major criticism from both liberal and conservative commentators over what she admitted. Stewart and Martin said that such decisions show a big problem with Democratic Party trust, especially when the party publicly supports LGBT causes but privately makes different choices based on sexual orientation.

Harris tried to explain her position during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show on Monday. She said that she wasn’t saying Buttigieg couldn’t be on the ticket because he’s gay. Instead, she talked about it as a question of timing and what was at risk, saying that with only 107 days to campaign against Donald Trump, having both a Black woman and a gay man on the ticket was a big risk. Harris said that she believes America is ready for such a ticket and that she might have been too careful in her decision.

Buttigieg responded to what Harris wrote in her book by telling Politico that he was surprised by what he read. The former Transportation Secretary said he believes in giving Americans more credit than thinking they would reject such a ticket. He said that politics should be about the results candidates can get for people’s lives rather than focusing on who people are. Buttigieg added that voters trust candidates based on what they think those candidates will do for them, not based on things like race or sexual orientation.

The controversy has added to wider criticism of Harris’s book tour and media appearances, with some Democratic strategists saying the timing and content are not helpful for the party’s future.