November 19, 2021, a historic day Americans have never heard of. Early in the morning, Joe Biden had to undergo a routine colonoscopy which required him to be placed under general anesthesia. During the operation, he was unable to manage the business. He therefore transferred his powers to his vice-president, Kamala Harris. For an hour and twenty-five minutes, the “leader of the free world” was a mixed-race woman. A first.
Will this moment last four years? We will know in the days to come. Whatever the outcome of the vote, the simple fact that Kamala Harris became, through a combination of circumstances, the candidate of the Democratic Party has the appearance of revenge.
Kamala Harris, a scorned politician
Before Joe Biden's catastrophic debate, some described it as a burden for the outgoing president. Three weeks before the cathodic disaster facing Donald Trump, an editorialist from Washington Post even called for her to be replaced as running mate by Hillary Clinton! It must be said that Kamala Harris is one of the most underestimated American political figures, along with Joe Biden. A mixed race woman, born to an Indian Brahmin mother and a Jamaican father who was well versed in Marxism, she evolved for a long time in white and masculine environments who looked down on her.
In 2003, few people believed in her chances when she ran for San Francisco district attorney, the city's “top cop.” Known at the time as the girlfriend of the charismatic Mayor Willie Brown, married but separated from his wife, she then challenged her former boss, the ebullient Terence Hallinan, a veteran of the local political scene. With energy to spare and the help of major local donors, she pulled off a surprise victory.
When, in 2004, she alienated the San Francisco police officers after refusing to seek the death penalty against a man who had killed one of their own, she was able to reconnect with them by cajoling them for years. Since her first campaign, she has not lost any election she has run in. After being re-elected in San Francisco, she became the first woman attorney general of California after a close vote, then senator of this state, the most populous in the country and a major economic power.
Failure in the 2020 Democratic primary
The only setback in this ascent: the 2020 Democratic primary. The one described as “the Obama of California” will withdraw before the first vote after several missteps and a direct attack from her rival, Tulsi Gabbard. During a televised debate, the Hawaii congresswoman shattered the image of a “progressive prosecutor” that Kamala Harris was trying to give herself by accusing her in particular of having ignored evidence that would have allowed the release of an innocent man sentenced to death . The senator was knocked out.
But again, she bounced back. Her savior: Joe Biden, who selected her as his running mate despite the fact that she half-heartedly accused him of being racist during the primaries. For the Democratic candidate, it was about using it to secure the support of black women, a key electorate for the left. Bet successful.
As vice-president, negative articles in the press have long undermined her. It is true that she had difficulty finding her place in this position of replacement-advisor, both close to and far from power. A gloomy working atmosphere in her teams, a failed trip to Central America at the start of her mandate, a feeling of being confined by the White House to thankless roles: she faced one challenge after another. Even the vice-presidential seats, previously occupied by men, were not suited to his build…
Promising files for the Democrats
Over time, however, she was able to find her feet and prepare for the next move. She increases her meetings with heads of state and government, expanding her international experience. She cultivates her address book, receiving activists from various backgrounds at the White House (civil rights, abortion, LGBT, etc.) while participating in different thematic “tours” to promote the legislative successes of the Biden government in pivotal states (swing states), determining factors in the race for the White House.
Above all, she takes charge of electorally promising issues for Democrats, such as the battle over abortion (voluntary termination of pregnancy) after the revocation in 2022 of the “Roe vs Wade” ruling by the Supreme Court with a conservative majority. In particular, in 2024, she became the first “VP” to visit an abortion clinic. Joel Goldstein, former professor at Saint-Louis University (Missouri) and vice-presidential specialist, assures us: “She learned to see the world from the White House. »
