The US President’s attack on Kamala Harris, calling her ‘nasty,’ ‘mean’ and ‘liar,’ indicates just how worried he is about his chances of winning a re-election

A text message announcing presidential candidate Joe Biden’s choice of White House running mate had only just pinged on his supporters’ phones when US President Donald Trump fired off his first tweet attacking her.

The form that message took — a slickly produced video describing her as a “phony” and creature of the “radical Left” — perhaps indicates just how worried the President is about his chances of winning re-election now that Senator Kamala Harris has joined the Democratic ticket.

If successful in November, the 55-year-old former prosecutor from California would become the first Black woman to serve as Vice-President of the US and would be well-positioned to step up to the presidency itself four years later.

Trump himself has made much of Harris’s status as a “transition” candidate — at 77, Biden is widely expected to serve only one term if successful. Her “ambition” for the role is said to have been a reason he delayed announcing his choice of running mate, with advisers warning she may be too focussed on the next presidential race to serve him loyally as the Vice-President.

If it sounds like an episode of Veep, the popular HBO show starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Vice-President, the 2020 presidential race is certainly no comedy.

Harris’ entry into the race has electrified many women and members of a Black community discouraged by the choice of yet another White man as the Democrats’ presidential candidate just as female reproductive rights are under attack and the country is riven by racial strife following the death of George Floyd. Her ethnicity and gender were undoubtedly motivations for Biden’s selection — he had been urged to opt for a Black candidate following the race riots of late spring and had already promised to choose a woman.

She also becomes the first person of Indian extraction to run for the high office. Born in Oakland, California, Harris’ parents had emigrated to the States from British colonies, 16,000 miles apart, within a year of each other in the early 1960s.

Her mother was a breast cancer surgeon from the Indian city of Chennai, while her father was an economics professor who grew up in Jamaica. Named after a Hindu goddess, Kamala grew up attending both a temple and a Black Baptist church. As a child, she was part of the busing programme designed to desegregate schools — a history she used with devastating effect against Biden, who had opposed busing during their primary debates (Harris also initially sought the presidential nomination, dropping out of the contest after failing to attract big money donors).

As a former presidential hopeful herself, Harris entered the Democratic race on Martin Luther King day, carefully timed to highlight the historic nature of her candidacy. It was also a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, who became the first Black woman to seek the Democratic nomination for president 47 years ago that week. When she announced her bid for the Democratic nomination, Harris said she felt a “responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are” and regain America’s “moral authority” in the world.

Despite showing early promise with strong debate performances, her campaign failed to catch fire and she quit the race in early December as money dried up and her poll numbers plummeted.

Her inability to connect with voters in the Democratic primary race remains a concern for some Democrats, as does the lingering idea that she might not be completely loyal to Biden because of a heated confrontation the two politicians had as rivals competing for the Democratic nomination.

Members of Biden’s inner circle have expressed reservations about the incident during an early Democratic primary debate, when Harris criticised Biden’s past opposition to the policy of busing, which saw children of different races bussed to schools as a way of breaking down segregated education.

As a prosecutor in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s, Harris gained a reputation for harsh justice, leading to, some have said, an unfair increase in the incarceration rate for young Black men. She rose to become California Attorney-General in 2011 and was elected to the Senate in 2016. Her background may well blunt Trump’s attempts to claim the mantle of the “law and order candidate.” More generally, her poise and persuasiveness make some Republicans nervous.

In his more candid moments, Trump has admitted to a grudging respect for Harris, publicly advising Biden that she would be the best pick. When the candidate followed the President’s advice, however, it was time for Trump to unleash his characteristically colourful invective.

In a press conference, hours after she was announced, the President began trying out a few familiar attack lines — similar to those misogynistic ones he used against Hillary Clinton — describing Harris several times as “nasty” as well as “mean,” “horrible,” “disrespectful” and a “liar.”

But while the Republicans will now do their best to portray her as a Left-winger, Harris is more mainstream than other senior Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, her politics broadly in line with those of Biden.

She gained a reputation during her presidential run as a strong debater, leading political observers to lick their lips at the prospect of a head-to-head between her and current Vice-President Mike Pence, a steely conservative.

Harris married fellow lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014 and is step mother to his two grown-up children, Cole and Ella, who call her “Momala.” She has spoken of her deep love for the children and friendship with their mother, describing the “modern family” as “almost a little too functional.”

So far, the family has kept out of the limelight but that may change as Senator Harris joins the battle for the presidency, in what is expected to be the most fiercely-fought contest for the White House in modern history.

Writer: Rosa Prince; Courtesy: The Pioneer

(Courtesy: The Telegraph)

The US President’s attack on Kamala Harris, calling her ‘nasty,’ ‘mean’ and ‘liar,’ indicates just how worried he is about his chances of winning a re-election

A text message announcing presidential candidate Joe Biden’s choice of White House running mate had only just pinged on his supporters’ phones when US President Donald Trump fired off his first tweet attacking her.

The form that message took — a slickly produced video describing her as a “phony” and creature of the “radical Left” — perhaps indicates just how worried the President is about his chances of winning re-election now that Senator Kamala Harris has joined the Democratic ticket.

If successful in November, the 55-year-old former prosecutor from California would become the first Black woman to serve as Vice-President of the US and would be well-positioned to step up to the presidency itself four years later.

Trump himself has made much of Harris’s status as a “transition” candidate — at 77, Biden is widely expected to serve only one term if successful. Her “ambition” for the role is said to have been a reason he delayed announcing his choice of running mate, with advisers warning she may be too focussed on the next presidential race to serve him loyally as the Vice-President.

If it sounds like an episode of Veep, the popular HBO show starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Vice-President, the 2020 presidential race is certainly no comedy.

Harris’ entry into the race has electrified many women and members of a Black community discouraged by the choice of yet another White man as the Democrats’ presidential candidate just as female reproductive rights are under attack and the country is riven by racial strife following the death of George Floyd. Her ethnicity and gender were undoubtedly motivations for Biden’s selection — he had been urged to opt for a Black candidate following the race riots of late spring and had already promised to choose a woman.

She also becomes the first person of Indian extraction to run for the high office. Born in Oakland, California, Harris’ parents had emigrated to the States from British colonies, 16,000 miles apart, within a year of each other in the early 1960s.

Her mother was a breast cancer surgeon from the Indian city of Chennai, while her father was an economics professor who grew up in Jamaica. Named after a Hindu goddess, Kamala grew up attending both a temple and a Black Baptist church. As a child, she was part of the busing programme designed to desegregate schools — a history she used with devastating effect against Biden, who had opposed busing during their primary debates (Harris also initially sought the presidential nomination, dropping out of the contest after failing to attract big money donors).

As a former presidential hopeful herself, Harris entered the Democratic race on Martin Luther King day, carefully timed to highlight the historic nature of her candidacy. It was also a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, who became the first Black woman to seek the Democratic nomination for president 47 years ago that week. When she announced her bid for the Democratic nomination, Harris said she felt a “responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are” and regain America’s “moral authority” in the world.

Despite showing early promise with strong debate performances, her campaign failed to catch fire and she quit the race in early December as money dried up and her poll numbers plummeted.

Her inability to connect with voters in the Democratic primary race remains a concern for some Democrats, as does the lingering idea that she might not be completely loyal to Biden because of a heated confrontation the two politicians had as rivals competing for the Democratic nomination.

Members of Biden’s inner circle have expressed reservations about the incident during an early Democratic primary debate, when Harris criticised Biden’s past opposition to the policy of busing, which saw children of different races bussed to schools as a way of breaking down segregated education.

As a prosecutor in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s, Harris gained a reputation for harsh justice, leading to, some have said, an unfair increase in the incarceration rate for young Black men. She rose to become California Attorney-General in 2011 and was elected to the Senate in 2016. Her background may well blunt Trump’s attempts to claim the mantle of the “law and order candidate.” More generally, her poise and persuasiveness make some Republicans nervous.

In his more candid moments, Trump has admitted to a grudging respect for Harris, publicly advising Biden that she would be the best pick. When the candidate followed the President’s advice, however, it was time for Trump to unleash his characteristically colourful invective.

In a press conference, hours after she was announced, the President began trying out a few familiar attack lines — similar to those misogynistic ones he used against Hillary Clinton — describing Harris several times as “nasty” as well as “mean,” “horrible,” “disrespectful” and a “liar.”

But while the Republicans will now do their best to portray her as a Left-winger, Harris is more mainstream than other senior Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, her politics broadly in line with those of Biden.

She gained a reputation during her presidential run as a strong debater, leading political observers to lick their lips at the prospect of a head-to-head between her and current Vice-President Mike Pence, a steely conservative.

Harris married fellow lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014 and is step mother to his two grown-up children, Cole and Ella, who call her “Momala.” She has spoken of her deep love for the children and friendship with their mother, describing the “modern family” as “almost a little too functional.”

So far, the family has kept out of the limelight but that may change as Senator Harris joins the battle for the presidency, in what is expected to be the most fiercely-fought contest for the White House in modern history.

Writer: Rosa Prince; Courtesy: The Pioneer

(Courtesy: The Telegraph)