Kamala Harris Defends Decision Not to Run With 'Risky' Gay Pete Buttigieg in 2024

Kamala Harris is doubling down on her decision not to pick Pete Buttigieg as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election due to concerns over his sexuality.

The former vice president appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Tuesday, where Rachel -- a gay woman -- pressed her over her recent confession that she nixed the former United States secretary of transportation as her VP pick at least partly due to him being gay.

Kamala -- who bluntly wrote in her new book "107 Days" that Pete was her No. 1 choice for her running partner, but he was too much of a risk -- told Rachel she didn't pass over him because of his sexuality explicitly, but because that, combined with her being a black woman, was too big a gamble.

She added ... "With the stakes being so high, it made me very sad. But I also realized it would be a real risk."

Kamala, as you know, only had 107 days to run against President Donald Trump last year, and she said that also played into her decision to go with someone safer, which ended up being Tim Walz, Minnesota's governor.

But ... she says America is ready for a gay person in office ... and she still holds a "great deal of sadness" about the entire situation.

We spoke to Pete Buttigieg in July 2024, and he told us all about how he'd approach the campaign as her veep.