Pete Buttigieg "would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man," Kamala Harris wrote in the upcoming book, according to The Atlantic. (Yuri Gripas/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk," the excerpt of the book continued, referring to tapping a gay man for the ticket as risky.
"And I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness."
HARRIS TAPS DEM EMAILS LISTS TO MARKET NEW BOOK, SPARKING PARTY NEUTRALITY CONCERNS
Media pundits and D.C. insiders took issue with Walz serving as her running mate following the November 2024 election loss to President Donald Trump, as they argued popular Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro or Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly or others could have better served the campaign against Trump.
For Conrad, the excerpt gives a nod to Buttigieg as a "national leader" who could throw his hat in the presidential contender ring in the next cycle. Buttigieg previously ran for president in 2020 before dropping out and endorsing President Joe Biden to succeed Trump in the Oval Office.
Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, are pictured during a campaign event at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., US, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In response to the excerpts, Buttigieg told the media Thursday that he believes in "giving Americans more credit" than basing their votes on "categories."
"My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories," Buttigieg told Politico during a ribbon cutting ceremony at a Democratic Party office in Indiana.
The book allows Harris to "speak her truth" on the wild 2024 election cycle, Conrad added, which includes excerpts acknowledging Biden "got tired" while on the campaign trail but denied any "big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
It's "good that she's sort of getting an opportunity to tell her version of events and be able to be more fully herself," Conrad said. "That's what I've been seeing from these excerpts. Is, you know, a real sense that she, I think, felt very managed and very kind of controlled for much of her time, both as VP and as a candidate. And this is sort of her opportunity to just … speak her truth."
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Buttigieg and Harris, but did not immediately receive replies.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kamala-harris-book-tees-up-potential-2028-pete-buttigieg-run-dnc-vice-chair