Jill Biden has drawn renewed attention after saying she believed Kamala Harris would win the 2024 presidential election, a remark that appears to conflict with accounts from Harris’ own campaign team. In a televised interview that aired on May 31, the former first lady said she was “certain” on election night that Harris would defeat Donald Trump, citing the enthusiasm around Harris’ candidacy and the size of the crowds at her events. Jill Biden said she felt Harris would prevail and added that she was shocked by the result.
Her comments stood out because former Harris campaign adviser David Plouffe later said the campaign’s internal polling never showed Harris ahead, even when some public surveys suggested she had a lead. Plouffe said after the election that the campaign was “behind” and that some public polling did not match what the team was seeing internally.
Jill Biden also said she worked hard to help Harris during the 2024 campaign after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid in July following a widely criticized debate performance against Donald Trump. Biden’s poor debate showing raised fresh concerns about his age, cognitive sharpness, and ability to defeat Trump, eventually leading him to withdraw from the race. Jill Biden said she spent nearly every day on the campaign trail and traveled across the country to support Harris.
The relationship between Harris and the Bidens has long been described as tense in some reports, and their political history includes public friction going back to the 2020 Democratic primary. During that contest, Harris sharply challenged Joe Biden over his past opposition to federally mandated busing, citing her own experience as a child in school desegregation efforts in California. Jill Biden later responded angrily to Harris’ attack on her husband, reportedly telling supporters on a conference call to “go f— yourself.”
That rivalry has continued to shape perceptions of the two women’s political relationship. Jill Biden was also said to have questioned why Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate, reportedly asking why Democrats had to choose “the one who attacked Joe.”
Harris addressed the Biden family’s role in her 2024 campaign in her 2025 memoir, 107 Days, saying she felt insufficiently supported by the president’s inner circle when stories about her were inaccurate or unfair. She also wrote that Joe Biden’s decision to stay in the race after the debate reflected strong support from Jill Biden, before he ultimately exited the campaign on July 21, 2024.
The latest remarks add another layer to the already complicated history between Harris and the Bidens, highlighting lingering tensions, competing recollections, and the political fallout from one of the most turbulent presidential campaigns in recent U.S. history.
