The Democratic finger-pointing set off by a buzzy new book on former President Joe Biden’s declining fitness during his presidency is now sloshing into the California governor’s race.
Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, tore into two other home state Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris and former health Secretary Xavier Becerra — after the Tuesday release of “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, accusing the two Biden administration officials of being complicit in a “cover up” about the then-president’s mental acuity.
Becerra, like Villaraigosa, is running to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026, while Harris is actively weighing a gubernatorial bid.
“Voters deserve to know the truth, what did Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra know, when did they know it, and most importantly, why didn’t either of them speak out?” Villaraigosa said in a statement. “This cover up directly led to a second Donald Trump term — and as a result, all Californians are paying the price.”
The book examines Biden’s health during his four-year term and the lengths taken by the president’s inner circle to bat down any speculation that the octogenarian would not be up to the task of a second term. Harris’s role as his vice president is a recurring subplot in the book as Biden world’s grim assessment of her political capabilities was a major motivator for Biden to run for reelection. Later, the account delves into the uphill climb Harris faced in running a truncated campaign after the president finally opted to step aside last July, weeks after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
The book does not recount specific incidents where Harris witnessed Biden in a diminished capacity or the vice president expressing concerns about his fitness, but it does depict Harris’ forceful public defenses of Biden’s sharpness after that debate, as well as after his shaky interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Becerra makes a more limited cameo in the book, in an anecdote where Biden, at a cabinet meeting, mixed up the former health secretary with Alejandro Mayorkas, then the homeland security secretary. Tapper and Thompson write that Cabinet meetings with Biden were scripted affairs, quoting three anonymous cabinet officials who were unnerved by their limited access to the president.
Villaraigosa slammed Harris for repeatedly saying there was nothing wrong with the president and accused Becerra of “turning a blind eye.”
“Those who were complicit in the cover up should take responsibility for the part they played in this debacle, hold themselves accountable, and apologize to the American people,” he said. “I call on Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra to do just that – and make themselves available to voters and the free press because there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Becerra, in a statement, said he met with the president “when needed to make important decisions and to execute with my team at HHS.”
“It’s clear the President was getting older, but he made the mission clear: run the largest health agency in the world, expand care to millions more Americans than ever before, negotiate down the cost of prescription drugs, and pull us out of a world-wide pandemic. And we delivered,” he said, adding that he wished the president and his family “godspeed in his treatment journey.”
Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer, his office announced Sunday.
A spokesperson for Harris did not comment on the book or Villaraigosa’s comments.
Villaraigosa, who has lagged in polling behind Harris and other contenders such as former Rep. Katie Porter, has been the most assertive Democrat in the field to challenge the former vice president, who is widely considered the front runner if she jumps into the fray.
The salvos against Harris were not limited to intra-party spats. Steve Hilton, the GOP television personality also mounting a bid, aimed his ire squarely at Harris in a social media post on Tuesday, alleging that the vice president “totally failed to do her duty. She knew that Biden wasn’t fit, but she went along with it anyway.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not just disgraceful, it is disqualifying,” Hilton said, “How dare she put herself forward for any elected office ever again after behaving like that?”
Harris should expect to get more incoming from Republicans after the revelations in “Original Sin,” said Kevin Spillane, a California-based GOP strategist.
“Republicans will have a lot of fun going after her because she was at the heart of what a lot of people believe — not just Republicans — was one of the biggest scandals in American history, which was the cover-up of President Biden’s decline,” Spillane said.
Jeremy B. White contributed to this story.