In the Harris-Walz campaign, food has emerged as an unexpectedly resonant theme. Vice President Kamala Harris has showcased her culinary skills through the YouTube series “Cooking with Kamala,” while coverage of Tim Walz has frequently highlighted his award-winning hotdishes. But food's role extends beyond mere symbolism. In a new interview with CNN, Harris revealed that it was over a meal that she first learned of President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse her as his successor.

"My family was staying with us, and including my baby nieces, and we had just had pancakes," Harris said in the Thursday interview. The children were in the middle of asking for more breakfast — “Auntie, can I have more bacon?” — when “the phone rang, and it was Joe Biden.” 

Harris continued: “He told me what he had decided to do and I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And that’s how I learned about it.” 

This summer, Biden was under growing pressure to drop out amid fears that his health was impaired and he wouldn’t be a competitive candidate against former president Donald Trump. In the interview with CNN, Harris said she felt. Biden’s presidency would be looked back upon with admiration and appreciation. 

“I think history is going to show... in so many ways it was transformative,” she said.