Former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Anderson Cooper as a “motherf–ker” to colleagues following a tense interview over former President Joe Biden’s catastrophic debate performance against Donald Trump last year, a bombshell new book revealed.
The then-veep unleashed the disparaging remark after the CNN host grilled her on Biden’s cognitive health immediately following his disastrous showing in June — that ignited widespread panic and ultimately led to the octogenarian dropping out of the race.
“This motherf–ker doesn’t treat me like the damn vice president of the United States, she said to colleagues,” according to the new book “Original Sin,” co-authored by Anderson’s CNN colleague Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson.
“I thought we were better than that.”
Harris, who was encouraged by her aides to cancel all post-debate interviews after her boss appeared frail and stone-faced, often losing his train of thought while going toe-to-toe with Trump, downplayed concerns from her party when she appeared on CNN.
Cooper spoke of Democrats describing “panic” over Biden’s “disaster” or “train wreck” of a debate. He questioned if the president should step aside.
Harris fought back, telling the anchor that Biden had a “slow start” but finished “strong.”
“People can debate on style points,” she added when pressed by Cooper.
“I got the point that you’re making about a one-and-a-half-hour debate tonight — I’m talking about three and a half years of performance and work that has been historic.”
While many in Biden’s circle cheered on Harris’s strong defense, according to the book, she was visibly angry when the interview was over and wielded the expletive comment.
Tapper and Thompson wrote that Harris took Cooper’s questions, which reflected the nation’s concerns, personally.
“Original Sin,” which was released May 20, also revealed that Biden, 82, was “rusty” as he struggled during debate prep — even napping the entire first day his wary staff had set aside to practice at Camp David in rural Maryland last June.
“Biden’s performance ranged from bad to passable … His voice was hard to hear, his delivery was halting, and his answers were all over the place,” the authors wrote of the mock debates.
“Advisers also told him his mouth was agape when he wasn’t speaking and urged him to close it,” the book goes on.
“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.”
Biden eventually developed a cold — which he blamed for his brutal performance that culminated in him becoming the first duly elected president not to seek a second term since Lyndon Johnson in 1968.
However, before withdrawing from the race, allies of the 46th president frequently responded to criticisms of his speaking ability by citing a childhood stutter, while critics pointed out that as a senator and vice president, Biden had shown an ability to discourse at length with no hiccups.
His aides then tried to limit his exposure to public scrutiny in “subtle ways,” the book noted.
“When a group wanted Biden to tape a five-minute video address to keynote an event, the White House usually responded by saying the video would be one to two minutes,” the authors write.
“However, even with the time limitation, Biden often couldn’t make it through one or two minutes without botching a line or two.”
Aides tried to compensate by filming the then-president from multiple angles and using jump cuts, but they couldn’t mask fundamental problems with Biden’s capability.
Biden has since announced that he has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that metastasized to his bones.
The Post has reached out to Harris about the Cooper remarks.
Read the full article here
