Kamala Harris

There have only been 48 before me, right?

Mm-hmm.

And I don't think anything can truly prepare you for what it is because it is a very unique position where you are, again, you are number two in command.

So the seriousness of the responsibility is that.

I give all credit to now the late President Jimmy Carter, who—

who decided when he was president, having come off of Kennedy and Nixon and everything, he decided that the vice president should be given greater responsibilities than had been the case because, God forbid, something happens to the president.

There should be a smooth succession.

And so Walter Mondale was his vice president and was the first to have an office in the West Wing.

The responsibilities were, again, to meet with world leaders.

The responsibilities were to travel the country on behalf of our administration and our policies.

It's an incredible responsibility.

Meeting with the variety of people who, for the most part, just want us to achieve good things.

So the lore has it that

The outgoing chief of staff to the president will tell the incoming chief of staff to the incoming president, regardless of political party, rule number one, watch the vice president.

Lore has it that that's the case.

And then I had, of course, run against Joe Biden.

I was very and acutely aware that I would have to over and over again prove my loyalty, that it wouldn't be assumed.

And it was counterproductive.

It was absolutely counterproductive.

To be candid with you, I had a sense of it for quite some time, but it was after the election that I really started to hear the stories about it.