Even though Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were previously opponents last year in the race for president (before she dropped out), on August 11th, 2020 he picked the California Senator to be his Vice Presidential running mate. This makes her the first woman of color on a major party ticket, and Donald Trump almost immediately started hating on them.
When asked how he felt about Biden choosing her, the sitting U.S. President said that he was “surprised” that Joe made that decision, that Kamala was “nasty”, “disrespectful”, a “phony”, a “radical”, and that some men who wanted to run for Vice President would probably feel “insulted” that Joe Biden decided to go with a female nominee.
Image from The Boston Herald.
What was weird about Trump saying all that was that he actually had made donations to Harris’ campaign when she ran for Attorney General of California, back before he was president. According to one NBC News report, Trump’s Senior Advisor, Katrina Pierson told reporters that since he had donated to a Black woman’s campaign, that all this stuff about him being racist should be “squashed”.
But, when they asked Senator Harris whether or not she thought that Trump was a racist, she told reporters, “I don’t think you can reach any other conclusion.”
Some Background Info About Senator Kamala Harris
Senator Harris’ father was Jamaican, her mother was from India, and they both were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Kamala has told multiple audiences how her parents used to bring her to protests while she rode in a stroller, and how she took in all they were saying and doing as they fought for social justice. She’s now 55 years old, was the California State Attorney General from 2011 to 2017, and, according to Britannica, was the second Black woman and the first Indian-American to serve as a United States Senator.
One of the things Biden likes about Senator Kamala Harris is how focused, courageous, and influential she is as a campaigner. He saw this firsthand when she was running against him in 2019 for the presidency, especially when it came time for her debate challenge towards him, that was actually over issues of race. Joe says that he doesn’t hold any grudges against Kamala, who was also the first Black District Attorney of California via San Francisco.
Senator Harris was friends with his son, Bo Biden, for several years, because they shared similar views when she was the Attorney General of California and Bo was simultaneously the Attorney General of Delaware. She became close to the Biden family over the years, but that’s not the only reason that Joe chose her. On the August 11th, 2020 NBC Nightly News broadcast, he was quoted as saying “I need someone who understands that we are in a battle for the soul of this nation…” He feels that Senator Harris has precisely the type leadership mentality that America needs in a future Vice President.
The Family-Like Bond Between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Even after she dropped out of the presidential race in 2019, Senator Harris still backed up Joe Biden during his campaign. This is, again, part of the reason that many believe Joe picked her as his Vice Presidential running mate for 2020, because he knows that her work-ethic and diligence on the campaign trail could end up winning him the presidency.
By the way, Biden was the one who actually swore her into the Senate over the Bible in 2017. And, with Harris’ mix of legal and political experience, Kamala is a wonderful addition to his campaign.
One of the biggest reviving moments of Biden’s campaign up until this point was when he won South Carolina earlier this year, after getting an endorsement from African-American House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who represents the Palmetto State. Now, with Senator Harris by his side, it will very likely propel him into a winning momentum that could quite possibly make him the next President of the United States.
We will just have to wait and see how things go between now and Election Day. And, if Harris and Trump keep going back and forth with the insults, words could potentially get really nasty between the two of them in the coming weeks. Her first debate against current Vice President Mike Pence is set to be on October 7th, 2020 in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah.
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