2024 Election

Underestimated at Every Turn, Kamala Harris Delivers

The political and media establishment has finally come around to seeing the VP’s strengths.
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Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.By Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.

Vice President Kamala Harris has had a seamless rollout since moving to the top of the Democratic ticket. She has energized a party that was teetering on the brink of an existential crisis just five weeks ago, quickly raising a reported $500 million; post-convention, that number has swelled to $540 million. She has engaged tens of thousands of volunteers, while closing the gap with Donald Trump and putting states like North Carolina and Georgia back in play.

But more than popularity, Harris has become embedded in the culture in a way that feels much more 2008 Obama than 2016 Clinton. She’s been boosted by music icons like Stevie Wonder, Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX, John Legend, and Beyoncé, whose song “Freedom” has served as a soundtrack for rallies and Thursday night’s convention finale. Meanwhile, Harris has been largely embraced by TikTok influencers and has gone viral talking about coconuts.

It’s worth remembering amid all the hoopla that Harris had been dismissed at every turn. Just last month, The Economist told us that Harris “lacks charisma,” and a New York Times panel of Opinion writers and contributors deemed Harris the least electable of a group of 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls. A month later, it’s hard to think of a more successful campaign rollout in modern political history. And I have to wonder how many times a woman of color has been underestimated for a job she both deserved and could excel at.

Despite the prevailing pundit wisdom that Harris wasn’t electable, I argued back in June—before the dreaded debate—that Joe Biden’s campaign was underutilizing her and that she was an asset in taking on Trump. And I wasn’t alone in seeing Harris’s abilities as a communicator, as Fordham University’s Christina Greer told me at the time: “She is able to articulate the administration’s policies on everything from reproductive rights to loan forgiveness to the existential threat the GOP policies pose on the future of the nation.” Or, as Maya Wiley, the CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, put it: “The vice president is a powerful and authentic communicator who can connect with women, particularly women of color, because she knows, firsthand, what we experience.”

Kamala Harris’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was almost an hour shorter than Trump’s meandering address at the Republican National Convention, which began with his recollection of being nearly assassinated, but devolved into his usual grievance-laden rally rant. Harris, meanwhile, seized on the American ideal of patriotism—the type of patriotism that Trump and Republicans left on the field when they opted to promote lies about the 2020 election and undermine the democratic process. 

Maybe some Republicans believed they were simply “humoring” Trump, as one unnamed Republican officially infamously told The Washington Post on November 9, 2020. “What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? He went golfing this weekend,” the official said. “It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on January 20. He’s tweeting about filing some lawsuits, those lawsuits will fail, then he’ll tweet some more about how the election was stolen, and then he’ll leave.”

But Republicans weren’t just humoring Trump when 147 members of Congress tried to overturn a free and fair election on January 6, 2021, just hours after Trump, then the president of the United States, incited a mob that attacked the US Capitol. With their allegiance to Trump, above all else, Republicans have abandoned democratic norms and any semblance of patriotism.

“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight,” Harris said Thursday night. “And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”

I’ve always thought Harris was an effective communicator, but further evidence of her speaking prowess, and the overall message of the convention, was delivered by Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, who wrote that Democrats “stole traditional Republican themes (faith, patriotism) and claimed them as their own.” Leaving aside that Republicans never actually owned such themes, what’s striking in this election is the stark the contrast between the Democrats’ uplifting view of America and Trump’s grim portrayal of a country overrun by crime and carnage. “Our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is,” Harris said Thursday. “Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.”

Trump has made clear that he prizes loyalty to himself most, whereas the Democrats gave stage time last week to Republican supporters of Harris, who, despite holding different policy views, have opted to put democracy first. In her speech, Harris made the case that she would work for the American people. “Every day, in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: Kamala Harris, for the people,” she said. “And to be clear, my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.” Harris’s experience as a prosecutor may have hampered her somewhat with the left when running in the Democratic primary in 2020, but in a 2024 general election against a convicted felon awaiting sentencing, it looks like a real asset.

If there was any doubt about Harris’s strong performance, just look at Trump’s Truth Social feed. The former president “truthed” 50 times during her 38-minute convention speech. One of his posts just said, “IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME?” In others he wrote, “WHERE’S HUNTER?” and “Walz was an ASSISTANT Coach, not a COACH,” and then later he also lied about Roe: “Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and Conservatives, wanted Roe v. Wade TERMINATED, and brought back to the States.”

Trump seemed to be melting down. On Thursday night, he called into Fox News, where he took issue with coanchor Martha MacCallum noting that Harris was “having some success” with women as well as Hispanic and Black voters. “She’s not having success; I’m having success,” Trump said. “I’m doing great with the Hispanic voters, doing great with Black men, I’m doing great with women.” He added, “It’s only in your eyes that they have that, Martha. We are doing very well.”

From her 2019 kick-off speech in Oakland, where an estimated 20,000 people showed up, to her grilling of Trump officials during her time in the Senate, Harris has demonstrated her abilities as a formidable speaker. She has a distinct oration style, a kind of call-and-response way of engaging with the audience, which resonates right now. While Hillary Clinton very much paved the way for a female presidential candidate, she often struggled with projection. Harris, however, is capable of being loud enough while still using a speaking voice. This may seem semantic, but female candidates are judged far more harshly than male candidates. Being able to project but still sound like you’re talking, and not yelling, is an extremely valuable skill.

It’s unfortunate that it took the political and media establishment so long to come around to  Kamala Harris, who seized the moment last week in Chicago and—with 70 days to go—is making the Democrats’ best case for why America shouldn’t go back to the Trump years.