Allies of Joe Biden will leak unflattering, “Palinesque” stories about Kamala Harris’ tenure as vice president if she discusses his cognitive decline, according to a journalist.
Mark Halperin, a veteran political reporter who founded the digital news network 2WAY, broke the news during the Friday episode of his show The Morning Meeting.
“I will tell you, and this has never been reported, barely at all,” he began. “If the Biden people decide that Kamala is coming after Joe Biden, wait till you hear the Palinesque stories about how much they tried to help her be prepared to be vice president and be in a position to run. And how much they decided, ‘Not happening. She’s not up to this.’”
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was late Sen. John McCain’s running mate during his bid for the presidency in 2008.
After McCain lost to Barack Obama, Palin was hit with a barrage of stories, sourced from within her own campaign, suggesting that she was unfit to be vice president—including that she didn’t know Africa was a continent.
Halperin said that the stories about Harris would only go public if she turns on Biden as she hits the media circuit in promotion of her 2024 campaign-chronicling new book, 107 Days.
“It’s not like they’re at war currently, but I’m telling you, if Joe Biden feels threatened, if his people feel threatened by her, this is gonna escalate in a big way,” Halperin said.
Halperin added that Biden’s team was “extraordinary in trying to help her do the job of vice president. They gave her every opportunity, and they found in some instances that she had some issues.”
Harris has stayed out of the spotlight since losing the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump in November. The title of her book references the shortened campaign timeline she had after Biden dropped out as the Democratic nominee.
The development has sparked speculation about Harris’s political future—though she also announced this week that she will not run for governor of California in 2026.
Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 race after a disastrous debate showing against Trump, has been blamed by some Democrats for leaving so little time for Harris to mount an effective campaign.
Biden has also faced reports that he suffered cognitive decline while in office, and that this was concealed by his inner circle of family members and aides.
The book Original Sin, released in May by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, contained a number of embarrassing revelations—including that Biden’s aides mulled getting him a wheelchair and that he was unable to recognize actor George Clooney, a longtime acquaintance.
Biden is currently the target of a Republican-led congressional investigation into whether he was the one making decisions during his presidency. Biden has strongly maintained that he called the shots.
In 2017, Halperin was fired from his job as an NBC News analyst after at least a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment while he was working at ABC News in the 1990s and 2000s.
The allegations included that he had forcibly pressed his genitals against multiple women and propositioned others for sex.
Despite facing widespread condemnation, Halperin was able to stage a career comeback in 2019 and has subsequently landed a book deal and launched a news network.
