We already knew Kamala Harris had thrown her former running mate, Tim Walz, under the bus in her tell-all book, 107 Days, by admitting that he wasn’t her first choice. But it turns out she didn’t just toss him under the bus; she ran him over and then threw it in reverse for good measure. The latest revelation exposes how the former DEI vice president delivered a blistering critique of Walz’s debate performance against JD Vance, laying bare just how badly things unraveled behind the scenes during that October 2024 showdown.
Okay, now, if you recall the debate, then you obviously know that any criticism of his performance is fair because he totally bombed. But her take on the debate and how Vance’s strategic approach completely outmaneuvered Walz hits really hard.
"When Tim fell for it and started nodding and smiling at J.D.'s fake bipartisanship, I moaned to Doug, 'What is happening?'" Kamala wrote, describing her real-time frustration to husband Doug Emhoff.
According to Kamala’s depiction of how things went down, she was particularly irritated watching Walz play nice with Vance, shouting at her television screen: "You're not there to make friends with the guy who is attacking your running mate." She believed Walz got completely duped by Vance's "mild-mannered aw-shucks" attitude and spent too much time defending his gubernatorial record instead of going on offense.
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Kamala may be right that Walz botched the debate, but he didn’t botch the debate because he was too friendly. He lost because Vance simply outclassed him in every meaningful way. While the moderators did their best to prop up Walz, Vance appeared more composed and better prepared, and he delivered clear, well-informed responses throughout the evening. Walz, by contrast, looked nervous and out of his depth.
Even CNN's panel couldn't spin it. Abby Phillip noted that "Tim Walz did not seem prepared for it. He didn't respond to a lot of the criticisms and attacks that Vance put on the table." Dana Bash had a different theory, suggesting that Walz was over-prepared with canned lines that prevented him from listening and responding naturally. Jake Tapper acknowledged that "JD Vance is much more experienced at this, at public speaking, at defending himself, at pivoting."
ABC's Jonathan Karl delivered perhaps the most damning assessment: "I think that that Walz did seem unsteady," while "JD Vance was very smooth. He took the arguments not to Walz — he was very respectful of Walz — took it to Kamala Harris."
That last point reveals Vance's strategic brilliance. He understood that the debate wasn't really about Tim Walz at all. Vance used the platform to systematically dismantle Kamala’s record while maintaining a respectful tone toward his actual opponent.
Kamala admits that she "discounted his concerns" when Walz warned from the beginning that he wasn't a good debater. She expected him to bring the same energy from campaign rallies to the debate stage, but those are completely different skill sets. Rallies are about firing up friendly crowds with rehearsed lines. Debates require quick thinking, strategic pivoting, and the ability to land punches while taking them in return.
She tries to soften the blow by claiming that the debate had "negligible effect on our polling" and reassuring Walz that "the election would not be won or lost on account of that debate." And while that’s likely true in theory, the fact that she felt compelled to write extensively about her frustration suggests the debate mattered more than she's willing to publicly admit.
Kamala describes Vance as a "shape-shifter" who "complained petulantly," but that sounds like sour grapes from someone whose running mate got thoroughly outmaneuvered. Vance didn't need to shape-shift. He was just competent, composed, and strategic. Walz, however, stumbled through talking points while wondering if there were tampons in the men’s room.
Kamala Harris just threw Tim Walz under the bus again! Her tell-all book reveals how badly their team imploded during the 2024 campaign. Will she have any friends left?. Whatever happens, we'll be there, so be sure to support our work by joining PJ Media VIP with the promo code FIGHT for 60% off and get exclusive content that cuts through the lies. Don’t wait; join today.