Here comes Kamala Harris: One would think that President Joe Biden, in his seeking re-election next year, would emerge as the star of the Democratic spotlight.
Still, as of now, liberals seem to be putting forward another personality as their frontliner.
One tackling everything from issues that resonate with the Democratic voter base, like abortion and women’s rights, gun control, and civil rights, to raising funds for the presidential campaign: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris in Attack Mode
Despite low job satisfaction ratings and concerns that she is being a “drag” on Biden’s re-election prospects, Kamala Harris has emerged as the more aggressive and assertive face of the Democratic party in the lead up to next year’s elections.
“These are all issues that resonate with the core constituencies we need to turn out in 2024. They are also issues that she is uniquely well positioned to speak to, and that motivate our base,” a news outlet quotes a Biden campaign official as saying.
Harris’s more combative approach – characteristic of her background as a prosecutor – is significant given the re-emergence of Donald Trump and no shortage of other Republican presidential candidates with similarly incendiary personalities.
“This is moment where I do believe there is a full-on attack against hard-won freedoms, but we have power,” Kamala Harris said at a fundraising speech in Iowa, where only a few weeks before, Iowa Governor Kim signed a ban on abortions as early as six weeks into the pregnancy.
Harris has also locked horns with GOP presidential hopeful and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over a controversial middle school curriculum on African-American history that claims slaves learned certain “skills” during the course of their circumstances – skills that, according to the curriculum, could be used for their personal benefit.
The vice president has not been shy about speaking up about the issue, saying, “They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not stand for it,” when news of the curriculum came out. She also declined a debate with DeSantis, saying she would not glorify the issue by arguing about an “undeniable fact.” “There were no redeeming qualities of slavery,” she added.
White House Gatekeeper
She’s also become a guardian of sorts for the president; as former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain describes it to news outlet Business Insider, making sure that there is “no one spreading ******** in the Oval Office.” Harris herself describes it as ensuring that the president gets information that is “not sugarcoated and not filtered and not through some policy wonk-speak.”
The president has affirmed how invaluable Harris is multiple times, one time telling MSNBC that “I just think that Vice President Harris hasn’t gotten the credit that she deserves… She is really very, very good.” Biden said. The White House also recently sent communications to Democratic donors and supporters affirming the vice president’s role in the scheme of things, calling her a “strong political force and invaluable asset” to the campaign.
The message also downplayed Harris’ low polling numbers, saying, “More important than any approval polling, however, is that the Vice President has established herself as a fearless voice on many of the issues that are most important to the core voters in the Biden-Harris coalition.”
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
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