On Sept. 23rd, 2025, Former Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, released her third memoir ‘107 Days’, following her 2024 presidential campaign against President Donald Trump. 

The title, “107 Days,” reflects upon the duration of her campaign, which ran for exactly 107 days following Joe Biden’s dropout of the presidential race. Throughout the memoir, she touches on the trials and tribulations that she faced upon having to take on such an important role as the new face of the democratic party as president nominee.

After reading this book, here are the 5 takeaways:

1. Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden were not always supportive of Harris.

It is clear within the first chapters that Harris values loyalty, especially from those she works with, reflected by an introduction quote from Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA”: “I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA.” Harris recalls an instance where she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, arrived at the White House on Independence Day, and Jill Biden pulled Doug aside. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Are you supporting us?” This upset Doug, who felt that Kamala’s work and impact was undermined by the Bidens. “They hide you away for four years, give you impossible, sh*t jobs, don’t correct the record when those tasks are mischaracterized, never fight back when you’re attacked, never praise your accomplishments, and now, finally, they want you out there on that balcony, standing right beside them,” Emhoff argued. This would be a recurring theme.

2. Gen-Z’s impact on Harris’ popularity as a candidate.

Those that were chronically online on Tiktok, Instagram, or even X during summer 2024, are probably familiar with the memes made by users about Harris following her announcement as the Democratic presidential candidate. It all started with singer-songwriter Charli XCX posting: “Kamala is brat,” in reference to her album “BRAT.” It would then follow with a resurfacing of an out-of-context clip of Harris asking “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” which undoubtedly became viral. The Kamala HQ social media account made by Harris’ team would not only adopt these memes, but also spread them like wildfire online. This led to intrigue within Gen-Z and Millennials on Harris’ campaign and what she stood for, reeling in many votes from these age groups. 

3. Choosing a vice president is a difficult task.

Before landing on Tim Walz, Harris had looked through many candidates who wanted to run alongside her as a vice president nominee. She had originally viewed the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg as top contender for the position, but she felt him being openly gay would risk their chances of winning, as Harris herself is already a woman of color at the top of the ticket. She then viewed Josh Shapiro, but that died down when Shapiro believed he “would be unable to settle for number two” due to ambition. This led to her choosing Tim Walz as her running mate, though she expresses remorse and frustration with her selection in hindsight.

4. Running for President is not for the weak. 

Immediately upon being announced as presidential candidate, Harris and her team had to leap into action. When running for a position such as president of the United States, much goes into the process. Harris details taking extensive debate courses, spending long hours discussing endorsements and strategies with other political figures such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, going to great lengths to address issues in regards to both the Republican and Democratic parties while staying true to her own agenda, etc. When considering an individual such as Harris, who is a bi-racial woman with immigrant parents, it is safe to assume that the battle to presidency was not going to be an easy one. She touches on how Donald Trump and followers would torment not only her, but also her family, with some claiming that Harris’ husband was still involved in a past affair and that Harris was lying and exaggerating both her Indian and African-American heritage. Her journey as a presidential candidate was one filled with criticisms and harsh struggles, and it shows how toxic modern politics can be.

5. 107 days was simply not enough time.

Ultimately, the memoir makes it clear that 107 days was not enough time for Harris and her team to deal with the challenges of campaigning against a ruthless opponent such as Trump. Harris reflects that her failure was not in necessarily her vision (which is expressed several times throughout the book), but rather in distinguishing her own agenda from the inherited one given to her by being Biden’s vice president during his administration, being one that is frowned upon by Americans due to economic, foreign policy, and immigration issues. However, 107 Days is a personal testament of Harris’ political commitment and ends on a sweet note, urging supporters to stay in the fight for democratic freedoms which she sought to champion, leaving the reader with not only a new perspective, but a sense of purpose likewise.