Primary Topic
This episode delves into Kamala Harris's political career, highlighting her Senate tenure and the controversies surrounding her presidential campaign.
Episode Summary
Main Takeaways
- Harris’s Senate career focused more on gaining media attention than on legislative achievements.
- Her presidential campaign is described as troubled by internal issues and strategic missteps.
- Harris's approach in the Kavanaugh hearings is highlighted as an attempt to bolster her national profile.
- Her confrontation with Biden during the Democratic primaries momentarily boosted her campaign.
- Criticisms from Tulsi Gabbard during the debates are portrayed as significantly damaging to Harris's campaign credibility.
Episode Chapters
1: Senate Career
Explores Harris's activities and public presence in the U.S. Senate, noting her focus on media visibility over substantial legislative contributions. Ben Shapiro: "Kamala's chief role in the Senate was to play prosecutor."
2: Presidential Campaign
Details the launch and decline of Harris's presidential campaign, emphasizing strategic errors and public reception issues. Ben Shapiro: "Her campaign website began selling merch, reading, 'that little girl was me.'"
3: Kavanaugh Hearings
Discusses Harris's aggressive stance in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, aiming to establish her opposition to his nomination. Ben Shapiro: "She would single-handedly destroy Kavanaugh and save the constitution."
4: Democratic Primaries Confrontation
Covers the significant impact of Harris's confrontation with Joe Biden on her campaign's trajectory. Ben Shapiro: "This confrontation brought her significant attention and a temporary boost in the polls."
5: Tulsi Gabbard's Critique
Analyzes the dramatic effect of Tulsi Gabbard's critique of Harris during the debates. Ben Shapiro: "Gabbard delivered a scathing critique that many viewed as a death blow to Harris's candidacy."
Actionable Advice
- Engage with criticism constructively: Rather than ignoring or deflecting criticism, address it head-on to improve credibility.
- Maintain consistency in messaging: Avoid flip-flopping on critical issues to build trust with your audience.
- Focus on substantive achievements: Prioritize genuine accomplishments over media visibility to build a lasting impact.
- Prepare thoroughly for public debates: In-depth preparation can prevent potential missteps during significant public or professional confrontations.
- Embrace authentic interactions: Genuine engagement can foster deeper connections and trust with stakeholders or the public.
About This Episode
In her Senate tenure, Kamala Harris sought celebrity over substance. Ben Shapiro reveals how her grandstanding questioning style and performative outrage made headlines but provided minimal legislative impact. From playing prosecutor to jumping on controversial bandwagons, Kamala’s time in the Senate was more about self-promotion than public service.
People
Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Tulsi Gabbard, Brett Kavanaugh
Companies
- Leave blank if none.
Books
- Leave blank if none.
Guest Name(s):
- Leave blank if none.
Content Warnings:
None
Transcript
Ben Shapiro
Hey folks, Ben Shapiro here. Welcome to Kamala Harris unmasked. This series is exactly why daily wire plus exists and why your membership is so crucial. Were bringing you the unvarnished truth about Kamala Harris that the mainstream media are too cowardly to touch. This is the kind of hard hitting, fact based content thats missing in todays media landscape. While the left wing outlets spin their narratives, were committed to giving you the real story, no matter whom it offends. Your support allows us to create content that matters, content that gives you the facts and the truth no one else will, because of their own agendas, were not beholden to corporate interests or political parties. We answer to you, our members. This fight for truth is more important now than ever before. With Scamala, were not just exposing one politician, were challenging the entire corrupt system that props up incompetent leaders and radical ideologies. If you believe in honest journalism, if youre tired of the mainstream medias lies, and if you want to be part of the solution, then join us. Go to Dailywire.com subscribe and become a member. Today. Lets continue this fight together. The truth matters, and with your help, we'll make sure it's heard. Now let's dive into Kamala Harris unmasked and see what the left doesn't want you to know.
When most Americans first became aware of Kamala Harris, she was already a senator, and she'd already been touted by the legacy media as a potential presidential candidate.
Barack Obama
There's a great district attorney in San Francisco whose name is Kamala Harris. She's brilliant, she's smart. She doesn't look anything like anybody you ever see on law and order. Yet she's tough and she's got a big future. They call her the female Barack Obama.
Ben Shapiro
There was a reason for that. From the day Barack Obama called her the hottest woman in american politics, I.
Barack Obama
Happened to mention that Kamala Harris is the best looking attorney general in the country.
Ben Shapiro
She had been treated as the next big thing, a female Barack Obama. But something funny happened on the way to the presidency. The public got to know Kamala Harris, and the more they saw her, the less they liked her. Her grasping, manipulative inauthenticity grew stronger with every public display. The more Kamala Harris wanted it, the less the american public wanted her.
Kamala Harris was sworn into the United States Senate as a senator from California in January 2017. She was determined to make her mark, not in terms of legislation or policy, but in terms of celebrity. The day after her inauguration, she spoke at the women's march, where she praised the pussy hatted brigade for their bravery.
Barack Obama
What a beautiful sight I see. What do my eyes behold? This is an extraordinary day, and we all should be extremely, extremely proud.
Ben Shapiro
The circus had begun. Kamala's chief role in the Senate was to play prosecutor. But where she had once appeared even spoken and even somewhat genuine, she now had developed verbal and linguistic tics that made her annoying and cloying. She nodded her head in vehement agreement with herself. Her hand motions were too large, too practiced. Her voice ranged into nasal indignation at every turn. And every questioning is a righteously furious assault.
Barack Obama
So are you aware that there are local law enforcement?
Ben Shapiro
I finish once before you interrupt me.
Barack Obama
Sir, with all due respect.
Ben Shapiro
With all due respect, senator. Desperate for attention, Kamala tried to play up her supposed authenticity and at every turn became more inauthentic.
Barack Obama
Well, the first thing we've got to do is to speak the truth, and the truth is that these folks are playing politics with public health, so they're engaged in all of this happy talk that is not truth.
Let's just go into 2018 and be joyful warriors. I like that term, joyful warriors. Yeah.
Ben Shapiro
Kamala was active in the ouster of Senator Al Franken after the Minnesota senator was caught with his hands in the cookie jar, or rather near the breast of a talk show host years before. In a picture captured while that host was asleep, Kamala quickly came out for Al Franken's resignation. That, conveniently enough, opened up a slot for her on the judiciary committee. And it was from there that Kamala truly began to unleash her unpleasant Persona in 2017, interviewing Attorney General Jeff Sessions. She would not allow him to answer questions and talked over him.
Joe Biden
The policy is based on.
Barack Obama
Did you ask that it would be shown to you?
Ben Shapiro
The policy is based on the principle that the president.
Barack Obama
Sir, I'm not asking about the principle. I'm asking. When you asked these questions and you would rely on that policy, did you not ask your staff to show you the policy that would be the basis for you refusing to answer the. The majority of questions that have been asked?
Unidentified Speaker
You should be allowed to answer the question.
Ben Shapiro
In the aftermath, she would complain of being interrupted. The media would predictably pick up that narrative.
But Kamala's Senate starring role was yet to come. That starring role came in 2018, when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy resigned at the age of 81. President Donald Trump, guided by the scholars at the Federalist Society, picked DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the slot. Kamala saw this as her time to shine, she would single handedly destroy Kavanaugh and save the constitution. She immediately released a statement minutes after his nomination calling him a, quote, direct and fundamental threat to the promise of equality. At the very first hearing, she launched into a long speech, introducing herself to the american public as a presidential candidate.
Barack Obama
I was starting kindergarten, and I was a bus in a bus, a school bus on my way to Thousand Oaks elementary school as part of the second class of students, as busing desegregated Berkeley, California, public schools.
Ben Shapiro
All of this was merely the beginning of Kamala's dishonest pyrotechnics. At the time of the Kavanaugh hearings, the Robert Mueller special investigation into supposed russian collusion with the 2016 Trump campaign was the top story in the news. So Kamala decided to ask Kavanaugh about whether he himself had been involved in some way in the case. To do so, she threw out a weird theory that Kavanaugh had talked with someone at the firm of Kasowitz, Benson and Torres, the law firm for President Trump, about Robert Mueller. Kavanaugh clearly had no idea what Kamala was getting at, but she persisted.
Barack Obama
Have you had any conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that firm?
Yes or no?
Brett Kavanaugh
Well, is there a person you're talking about?
Barack Obama
I'm asking you a very direct question. Yes or no?
Brett Kavanaugh
I need to know the, I'm not sure. I know everyone who works at that law firm.
Barack Obama
I don't think you need to. I think you need to know who you talked with. Who'd you talk to?
Ben Shapiro
The next day, all of the focus was on Kamala. Who was she suggesting Kavanaugh had talked to? What sort of corrupt arrangement was she uncovering? The answer? She had nothing. The entire accusation was total nonsense. She literally tried to manufacture a gotcha out of whole cloth in an attempt to catch Kavanaugh in what is called a perjury lie, where somebody lies by accident and then is prosecuted. It didnt work. But all of that was prelude to the big show. On September 16, 2018, the Washington Post came forward with an extraordinary accusation against Kavanaugh, an accusation from California professor Christine Blasey Ford. Ford alleged that as a teenager some four decades before, she had attended a party where Kavanaugh and his high school friends were drunk and attempted to r her. She could not name the location, the date, or the time of the party. She could not name any of the other people present at the party. It turns out that Ford had attempted to make the allegation anonymously. Originally, she had called representative Anna Eshoo of California, who had referred that story to Senator Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein had asked for a letter with the details. Presumably, Feinstein didn't find the story all that compelling because it went nowhere. Later, Eshoo went to Kamala Harris. And then all of a sudden, the information began leaking to the press. Before Ford's testimony, Kamala did an interview with CB's News in which she touted Ford's heroism and said she believed Ford, even though she'd never actually talked to her.
Barack Obama
I believe her.
Ben Shapiro
Blasey Ford eventually testified before the senate. Her testimony was vague and questionable.
Christine Blasey Ford
I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me.
He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me.
I believed he was going to me.
I tried to yell for help. Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life for a very long time. I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details.
Ben Shapiro
But Kamala stepped in again to call her a hero.
Barack Obama
You are sitting here before members of the United States Senate's judiciary committee because you had the courageous to come forward. I want to thank you for your courage. And I want to tell you I believe you.
I believe you, and I believe many Americans across this country believe you.
Ben Shapiro
None of this stopped Kamala, who questioned Kavanaugh savagely.
Barack Obama
Judge Kavanaugh, have you taken a professionally administered polygraph test as it relates to this issue? So I'm gonna ask you one last time.
Are you willing to ask the White House to authorize the FBI to investigate the claims that have been made against you? Do you agree that it is possible for men to both be friends with some women and treat other women badly?
Ben Shapiro
These were scurrilous attacks designed to destroy Brett Kavanaugh as a judicial nominee and as a man. Kavanaugh would defend himself in passionate terms.
Brett Kavanaugh
This whole two week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left wing opposition groups.
This is a circus.
Ben Shapiro
And indeed, Kavanaugh would be confirmed by the Senate on October 6, 2018, a kamala had her momentous and the launch point for her presidential campaign. Indeed, she announced for the presidency just months later, January 21, 2019.
Barack Obama
I stand before you today clear eyed about the fight ahead and what has to be done with faith in God, with fidelity to country, and with the fighting spirit I got from my mother.
I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States.
Ben Shapiro
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A black woman, a second Obama saw her as an early front runner in what would undoubtedly be a crowded field. Early polling put her at the top of the democratic keep, second only to Bernie Sanders, whom it was broadly believed would decline as the field consolidated. Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign on Martin Luther King Junior Day with a rally in her hometown of Oakland, California. The event drew an estimated 20,000 people, and she attempted to position herself as both the underdog and the popular choice of the black community. Like Barack Obama before her, ditching her tough on crime top cop talk, she spoke of herself as a progressive prosecutor ready to bring justice and equality to the forefront of american politics.
Barack Obama
I'm running to fight for an America where no mother or father has to teach their young son that people may stop him, arrest him, chase him or kill him because of his race.
Ben Shapiro
She was positioning herself on the left of the democratic party in an attempt to shoulder out potential competitors like Beto O'Rourke of Texas and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both of whom were widely perceived as direct competitors.
Barack Obama
America's story has always been written by people who can see what can be unburdened by what has been.
Ben Shapiro
She branded her campaign Kamala for the people. That branding was a mistake. Kamala had never been a populist politician. Shed always been the candidate of the elite Democratic Party. Her logo was a disaster area, a confusion of too many words and bizarre color scheme, and her for the people slogan, a riff on the prosecutors introduction in court. Kamala Harris for the people, your honor, felt absolutely flat. Nonetheless, she raised huge cash out of the gate during the first 24 hours of her campaign. She cleared $1.5 million in donations, tying Bernie Sanders 2016 launch record. Within weeks, though, she would begin to flounder. In February 2019, an actor named Jussie Smollett alleged that he had been beaten in the middle of the night on the streets of Chicago by two white men wearing red hats. The two men had been shouting, this is MAGA country. As they looped a rope around his neck and threw bleach on him. Who says empire this MAGA country?
Seeking to be the first out of the gate to capitalize on this sensational story, Harris tweeted that this was a modern day lynching and suggested that the alleged incident serve as the basis for pushing a law she supported. As should have been obvious from the outset, however, the story was a lie. Harris had to backtrack. She also jumped into controversy surrounding Joe Biden, her chief rival from the Democratic Political center, when seven women came forward claiming that Biden had engaged in unwanted touching. Kamala claimed she believed the women.
Barack Obama
I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it.
Ben Shapiro
The money train rolled on. During the first quarter of the year, she raised $12 million, a solid showing for a candidate on the rise. Still, Kamala's campaign struggled with internal organization. From the beginning. Reports of infighting, lack of clear strategy and inconsistent messaging began to surface, hinting at deeper issues that would plague her run. Those stories, of course, would only break out into the open as her campaign began to melt down. That meltdown, surprisingly, began with what should have been Kamala's breakout moment during the first debate of the primary season, June 27, 2019. Kamala through luck of the draw there were two groups of democratic candidates faced off against Bernie Sanders and in particular, Joe Biden, the former Obama vice president and new presidential front runner. This was her opportunity to knock Biden out of the race to steal his voting base. And she took it first. She set herself up as the adult in the room by intervening in a spat between other candidates.
Barack Obama
America does not want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we're going to put food on their table.
Ben Shapiro
The Cannes line went over well somehow. But then Kamala got serious. She slammed Biden as a racist.
Barack Obama
It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country.
And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing.
And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to school every day.
And that little girl was me.
Ben Shapiro
This confrontation brought her significant attention and a temporary boost in the polls. CNN headlined Harris attack on Joe Biden steals spotlight, a democratic primary debate. Her campaign website began selling merch, reading, that little girl was me. Pollsters suggested that her support had doubled from 8% before the debate nationally to 17% afterward. She raised $2 million within 24 hours. But this moment of glory was short lived. Kamala's inability to sustain the momentum revealed a critical weakness, unpreparedness. As with Justice Kavanaugh, Kamala could launch an attack, but she rarely backed it up. She had no command of details or evidence. Her walk back began almost immediately with Joe Bidens comments on national television suggesting that her remarks were baseless and scurrilous.
Joe Biden
I thought we were friends, and I hope we still will be. You know, she asked me to go out and call me and ask me to go to her convention and be the guy from outside of California to nominate her at her convention for the Senate seat. I did.
Ben Shapiro
On MSNBCs morning Joe, Kamala softened and walked back. Her attack on Biden.
Barack Obama
So he shouldn't have worked with them is what you're saying. I'm saying no. I'm saying that the characterization and the nostalgia about who they were, I find to be misplaced. And it was hurtful to me to hear that we would be nostalgic about people who, if they had their way, I would not serve in the United States Senate.
Ben Shapiro
Her position in Biden's on busing were substantially the same. Kamala's policy positions were another area of concern. Her stance on health care was emblematic of her campaign's broader issues. Initially, Kamala supported Bernie Sanders Medicare for all plan, which would eliminate private insurance. She even went on television and said, so.
Barack Obama
I believe the solution and I actually feel very strongly about this, is that we need to have Medicare for all.
Ben Shapiro
But as criticism mounted, particularly from centrist voters and health care professionals, she wavered.
Barack Obama
The role of private insurance, are you limiting that to something like cosmetic insurance or what is the exact to cover what is not otherwise covered? So that includes what? Very little, because almost everything will be covered.
Ben Shapiro
Kamala tried to strike a middle ground, proposing a plan that would maintain private insurance options while moving toward universal coverage. This flip flop alienated both progressives and moderates, leaving her without any solid base of support. Her inconsistency extended to other issues as well. On criminal justice reform, Kamala struggled to reconcile her record as a tough on crime prosecutor with her new progressive platform. During a televised town hall, Kamala was asked about her stance on the death penalty for convicted cop killers. Her response was a convoluted attempt to balance her past actions with her current campaign platform, resulting in a muddled message that pleased no one.
Barack Obama
My career has been based on an understanding, one that as a prosecutor, my duty was to seek and make sure that the most vulnerable and voiceless among us are protected. And that is why I have personally prosecuted violent crime. That includes rape, child molestation, and homicide.
And I have also worked my entire career to reform the criminal justice system. Understanding to your point, that it is deeply flawed and in need of repair.
Ben Shapiro
Critics on the left and the right pointed to her past actions, such as her defense of the death penalty and her handling of truancy laws, which disproportionately affected low income and minority communities. These contradictions eroded her credibility and trustworthiness. People were beginning to see through Kamala Harris act. The real problem, however, was not Kamala's politics. It was her personality. Treated with kid gloves for her entire career, Kamala's sudden fame exposed her, sanded off all the varnish. It became clearer day after day that she was simply unlikable. Kamala quickly became the race's most inauthentic politician. Her most obvious foible was an unfortunate behavioral tick. When asked a tough question, she'd break into nearly uncontrollable laughter. Whether during interviews or debates, Kamala's tendency to laugh at inappropriate times often came across as dismissive, out of touch, just plain weird. This behavior was not just a minor quirk. It became a symbol of her inability to connect with voters on a deeper level.
Barack Obama
And that, too.
I bet he's entitled to his opinion.
Well, I think we've got a couple of issues, Chris, with that I was the only one in the room who thought we were still in the game.
Ben Shapiro
All of these issues broke out into the open at the next democratic primary debate on July 31, 2019. Joe Biden opened the debate by approaching Kamala for a handshake, muttering, go easy on me, kid.
Joe Biden
Go easy on me, kid.
Ben Shapiro
Jake Tapper of CNN brought up the attack from the last debate, and Kamala did exactly what Joe Biden wanted. She went easy on him.
Barack Obama
Vice President Biden was in the United States Senate working with segregationists to oppose busing, which was the vehicle by which we would integrate America's public schools. Had I been in the United States Senate at that time, I would have been completely on the other side of the aisle. And let's be clear about this, had those segregationists their way, I would not be a member of the United States Senate. Cory Booker would not be a member of the United States Senate, and Barack Obama would not have been in a position to nominate him to the title he now holds.
Ben Shapiro
But that wasn't the moment that killed the Harris campaign. That moment came at the hands of former Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard. Running at Kamala from both the left and the center, Gabbard delivered a scathing critique that many viewed as a death blow to Harris candidacy. Gabbard began by accusing Kamala of hypocrisy, pointing out that despite presenting herself as a progressive reformer, her record told a different story. She highlighted that Kamala had blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row, a charge that struck at the heart of Kamala's claims to fairness and justice.
Tulsi Gabbard
I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across the country. Today, Senator Harris says she's proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she'll be a prosecutor president. But I'm deeply concerned about this record.
There are too many examples to cite. But she put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.
She blocked evidence.
She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California. And she fought to keep tax bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way. Senator Harris, when you were in a position to make a difference and an impact in these people's lives, you did not. And worse yet, in the case of those who were on death row innocent people. You actually blocked evidence from being revealed. That would have freed them until you were forced to do so. There is no excuse for that. And the people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor owe you, owe them an apology.
Ben Shapiro
This was, of course, the first time she'd ever publicly faced serious pushback, and she collapsed in the face of Gabbard's withering assault. The media and public reaction to the exchange was swift and harsh. Many declared Gabbard the clear winner of that debate segment and declared Harris on the ropes. Kamala attempted to deflect by attacking Gabard's own record and questioning her standing in the race. These responses fell flat. They failed to address the substantive criticisms that had been laid out.
Barack Obama
I think that it's unfortunate that we have someone on this stage who is attempting to be the democratic nominee for president of the United States who during the Obama administration, spent four years full time on Fox News criticizing President Obama.
Tulsi Gabbard
That's right.
Barack Obama
Who has spent full time, who has spent full time criticizing people on this stage as affiliated with the Democratic Party.
Ben Shapiro
The confrontation significantly damaged Kamala's campaign. Her poll numbers dropped precipitously and the criticism from Gabbard stuck with voters, casting serious doubt on Kamala's authenticity and trustworthiness. Gabbard's attack was not just a momentary setback, but a turning point from which Kamala's campaign never recovered. It highlighted the vulnerabilities and contradictions in Kamala's record. And her inability to effectively counter those criticisms in real time underscored the lack of preparedness and strategic depth within her campaign. Meanwhile, Kamala's gaps became more and more unwatchable.
Barack Obama
This is a conversation I have heard in every campaign I have, and now, here is the operative word, one.
And y'all are looking at me. Okay, Kamala, why do you say this? Why do you think we have so much more in common than what separates us? Well, I'll tell you.
I know it based on every personal and professional experience I've had.
And I know it based on what I call the three in the morning thought. Okay, y'all looking at me. Where are you going with this? Okay.
Ben Shapiro
Her inauthenticity was like an onion. Peel one layer, find another layer of inauthenticity beneath. Her most virally inauthentic moment came when her campaign got a bus.
Unidentified Speaker
Senator Harris is kicking off a five day bus tour.
Barack Obama
Look at my bus.
Oh, my God. I love it.
Ben Shapiro
The mockery was immense and well deserved. In response, Kamala attended big dollar fundraisers, avoided the campaign trail avoided the press. That was, of course, where she was most comfortable with the money people in the Democratic Party. Kamala for the people. Indeed, as the campaign progressed, Kamala's support steadily continued to decline. By the fall of 2019, her poll numbers had cratered. Her fundraising efforts were faltering. Despite her attempts to shift her campaign's focus to Iowa, she wasn't picking up ground even there. Internal campaign memos revealed a chaotic organization, with staff turnover and a lack of cohesive strategy contributing to the campaign's unraveling. Politico reported in October 2019 that Harris was, quote, hemorrhaging cash and in danger of lacking the resources to mount a competitive bid against better funded rivals in Iowa, Kamala attempted to reshuffle the cards in order to rescue a campaign that was still being viewed as a likely early stage juggernaut. Just three months ago, on November 29, the New York Times ran an expose on Kamala's campaign. It was effectively a campaign obituary, noting that she was the only 2020 Democrat who has fallen hard out of the top tier of candidates. The Times called her an uneven campaigner who changes her message and tactics to little effect and has a staff torn into factions. The Times reported a resignation letter from Kelly Melenbacher, the state operations director. In it, Melenbacher excoriated the campaign, quote, this is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly.
Melenbacher saved particular ire for Maya Harris, Kamala's sister, the campaign chairwoman. The Times reported that her, quote, decline is more predictable than surprising. The organizational unsteadiness of Miss Harris campaign reflects a long time personal trait. According to allies, she is a candidate who seeks input from a stable of advisors. But her personal political convictions can be unclear. That was a very nice way of saying the obvious. Kamala Harris had no principles. By December, facing dwindling resources and an insurmountable gap in the polls, Kamala made the decision to suspend her campaign. In her withdrawal statement, Kamala cited financial difficulties and the need to focus on uniting the democratic party.
Barack Obama
So here's the deal, guys. My campaign for president simply does not have the financial resources to continue and the financial resources we need to continue.
I'm not a billionaire. I can't fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it has become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete in good faith. I cannot tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don't believe I do.
So. To you, my supporters, my dear supporters, it is with deep regret, but also with deep gratitude that I am suspending our campaign today.
But I want to be clear with you, I am still very much in this fight, and I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about.
Justice for the people, all the people.
Ben Shapiro
However, the reality was clear. She had poisoned herself with the voters, and her campaign had been a full scale disaster area.
Barack Obama
Mister vice president, I'm speaking.
Unidentified Speaker
I have to speak.
Barack Obama
I'm speaking. Let's talk about this. Yeah, I'm about to.
I'm speaking.
Unidentified Speaker
It'd be important if you said the truth.
Barack Obama
If you don't mind letting me finish.
Ben Shapiro
For the next few months, Kamal struggled. She remained critical of Joe Biden. In March 2020, when Tara Reid came forward and accused Biden of sexual assault, Kamala backed Reid's case. But in reality, Biden was in good electoral shape. Kamala was out in the wilderness, but it still wasn't over for her. Kamala Harris may have had one of the most spectacular collapses of any presidential candidate in modern history, but she still had one thing going for she was a black woman. And that advantage made itself apparent with the death of George Floyd. Kamala was an awkward candidate to play racial conflagrationist. She was a former prosecutor married to a white man without any serious record in left wing race baiting. But the democratic party under nominee Joe Biden, an old white man, was desperate, and there was Kamala waiting. Floyd's death ignited widespread rioting and cries from the left to defund the police. That same month, Kamala Harris sought to reposition herself yet again, this time as a racial justice warrior. On June 1, as riots burned, Kamala tweeted out a call to chip in to the Minnesota Freedom Fund to, quote, post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. Those werent protesters. They were rioters. And now Kamala, the former top cop, was supporting them. Meanwhile, as Joe Biden finished up his victorious primary campaign, he needed to please his black voting base, the people who had elevated him to the nomination over Bernie Sanders. He couldnt do so himself.
He had been one of the architects of the 1994 criminal justice scheme that ended with large scale incarceration disproportionately among black men. And so he had to pander. Within weeks of floyds death, the so called racial justice movement, in his name began calling for Biden to pick a black woman for his running mate. That push had actually begun in April, when some 200 black female leaders and activists within the Democratic Party signed an open letter demanding a black female vp pick from Biden. They held a call with Biden in May, and in June, Biden announced that he would be seeking just that, a black woman. On July 20, Biden said he had four black women on his vice presidential shortlist.
Joe Biden
Among them, there are four black women. So that decision is underway right now.
Ben Shapiro
One of those women was Kamala Harris. She was the most qualified. The other two were House members and a national security adviser. And only one of the possibilities had the support of the ex president and sole reason for Joe Bidens political success at the age of 77. Barack Obama. Behind the scenes, Obama played a pivotal role in Kamala's selection. He recommended her selection to Biden. His endorsement was crucial as it helped to alleviate concerns within the party about Kamala's controversial record and bolster her candidacy with his considerable political capital. Obama's support also helped to overcome opposition from Jill Biden, who, according to all reports, disliked Kamala strongly since her scurrilous attacks on Joe. Now the woman Obama had once called the hottest attorney general in the nation was about to be placed. One heartbeat from Obama's old job. On August 11, 2020, Joe Biden announced that Kamala Harris would be his vice presidential running mate. I have the great honor to announce that I've picked Kamala Harris, a fearless fighter for the little guy, one of the country's finest public servants, as my running mate, Biden tweeted. For her part, Kamala was now ready to bend the knee, saying Biden, quote, can unify the american people because he's spent his life fighting for us and as president, he'll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for vice president and do what it takes to make him our commander in chief.
Joe Biden
I have no doubt that I picked the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States of America, and that's Senator Kamala Harris. Is the answer yes?
Barack Obama
The answer is absolutely yes. Joe. I am ready to work. I am ready to do this with you, for you. I just, I'm just deeply honored.
Ben Shapiro
Kamala's chemistry with Biden was weak. They didn't know how to interact with one another. Biden wanted her to be seen but not heard. He wanted to show her off as the intersectional future without having to take her input. All of that was made apparent during a joint introductory interview on August 23, where the two seemed ill at ease. Well, thank you both for sitting down with us.
Joe Biden
Thanks for having us.
Barack Obama
Thank you.
Ben Shapiro
The process wouldn't become any easier. Kamala was, as always, an awkward campaigner with no expertise on any relevant issue. Her gaffes, once again began to pile.
Barack Obama
Up for us at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time. Which is why we will work together and continue to work together to address these issues, to tackle these challenges, and to work together as we continue to work, operating from the new norms, rules, and agreements that we will convene, to work together on the significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time in terms of what we need to do. There's this whole conversation that's been coming up about electability, focused on our campaign.
Is America ready for that?
That will be a Sar. Space is exciting.
It spurs our imaginations, and it forces us to ask big questions.
Ben Shapiro
Kamala's vice presidential campaign was intended to be a showcase of her abilities, a testament to her historic candidacy. Instead, it became a glaring exposition on her political inadequacies and public relations missteps. The vice presidential debate juxtaposing Kamala with Vice President Mike Pence, supposed to be a shining moment for Kamala. Her strategy was play the victim. From the outset, she attempted to recreate some of her greatest hits from the Senate, in particular, her early pr success, claiming that she'd been victimized by men who interrupted her. Only this time, she would not be interrupted.
Barack Obama
Mister Vice president, I'm speaking.
I'm speaking.
Unidentified Speaker
It would be important if you said the truth.
Joe Biden said twice in the debate last week that he's going to repeal the Trump tax cut.
That was tax cuts that gave the average working family $2,000 in a tax break every single year.
Barack Obama
Senator, that is absolutely not true.
Unidentified Speaker
That is he only going to repeal part of the Trump tax cuts?
Barack Obama
If you don't mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation. Okay?
Ben Shapiro
Please.
Barack Obama
Okay, well, let's get. But, Susan, this is important. And I want to add, Mister vice president. I'm speaking.
Unidentified Speaker
I have.
Barack Obama
I'm speaking.
Ben Shapiro
But like everything else with Kamala, the whole routine was forced and phony. Pence, an unfailingly polite candidate, never attempted to bully Kamala, instead leaving her in the bizarre position of playing the wronged victim in the absence of any victimization. Despite Kamala's attempts to sell a new set of merch on the back of her debate performance. I'm speaking. The attack fell flat. It was the beginning of a long night for Kamala, who once again fell short in command of the issues and couldn't defend her own record. When questioned about her previous support for the Green New Deal, Kamala attempted to distance herself from the controversial elements of the proposal despite having co sponsored it in the Senate.
Barack Obama
And the american people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact.
That is a fact.
I will repeat that Joe Biden has been very clear that he thinks about growing jobs, which is why he will not increase taxes for anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year.
Joe Biden's economic plan Moody's, which is a reputable Wall street firm, has said will create 7 million more jobs than Donald Trump's. And part of those jobs that will be created by Joe Biden are going to be about clean energy and renewable energy.
Ben Shapiro
This flip flopping only served again to reinforce the perception that Kamala lacked a firm stance on critical policies. Additionally, her failure to adequately address Pence's pushback on the administration's handling of Covid-19 and the economy lapsed into incoherence. The debate also exposed Kamala's difficulties in articulating a clear, compelling vision for the future. While Pence methodically laid out the Trump administration's accomplishments and plans, Kamala often relied on broad statements and emotional appeals lacking specificity.
In the end, Kamala's performance was saved not by her, but by a rogue fly that landed on Mike Pence's head. On such minor things, campaigns turn to.
Unidentified Speaker
The men and women who serve in law enforcement, and I want everyone to know who puts on the uniform of law enforcement every day that President Trump and I stand with you.
Ben Shapiro
While Biden maintained his lead over President Trump in the polls, problems continued to swirl around Kamala. Allegations resurfaced regarding her handling of sexual harassment complaints while serving as Californias attorney general. Under Kamala's tenure, the California Department of Justice had paid out $1.1 million in settlements related to sexual harassment claims that included a notable case involving one of her top aides, Larry Wallace, who resigned after a $400,000 settlement was made following accusations of harassment.
Kamala's response to these incidents were inadequate and evasive. Once again, her dishonesty was on full display. Kamala's team claimed they were unaware of the issues until they were made public, a statement met with widespread skepticism. Kamala, who had attempted to build her career on advocating for victims and promoting accountability, had yet again failed to implement these values with within her very own office. In the end, though, Kamala was indeed elected vice president, riding Biden's coattails to the second highest office in the land. Even her announcement of her victory online was awkward and off putting.
Barack Obama
We did it. We did it, Joe.
Ben Shapiro
For his part, Biden touted her as his potential successor, telling interviews that if he disagreed with Kamala, perhaps he would step down.
Joe Biden
A fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle.
Ben Shapiro
I'll.
Joe Biden
I'll develop some disease and say I have to resign.
Ben Shapiro
But Kamala's lackluster showing as a failed presidential candidate and then again as vice president put her on thin ice. She'd soon break that ice.