It was not meant to be this way. When President Biden picked Kamala Harris as his 2020 running mate, the world was changing rapidly.
Four years after the first Black man, Barack Obama, stepped down from the White House, during which time he ushered in so much change that some of it can never be uncorked, Harris’s selection as the first Black woman presidential candidate was a trailblazing moment.
Relegated to the shadows of the Biden presidency for nearly 3½ years, Harris rose to prominence when Biden, who had always believed he had a better chance of winning than she did, reluctantly withdrew from the race and anointed her as his successor, perhaps in a passive-aggressive move to stick it to the coup architects. In a matter of days, most Democratic leaders agreed to support her, and in less than a month, she became the Democratic Party nominee.
This was the first time in American history that party leaders selected a nominee outside of a nominating convention. It was the first time in American history that someone who had never won a single vote or delegate became a major party’s presidential candidate overnight.
The average American voter saw that Harris was appointed to a position of immense power because no one votes for the vice presidential nominee on a presidential ticket. When the 2020 election was called for Biden-Harris, almost overnight, Harris moved into Number One Observatory Circle on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory, the official residence of the United States Vice President since 1974.
Harris became one of the lucky 49 people in American history to enjoy all the trappings of being the U.S. Vice President. She joined the likes of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Al Gore, whose names are forever enshrined in history.
Harris traveled around the world on Air Force Two, a highly secure and customized aircraft. She became accustomed to traveling in a motorcade with specialized vehicles protected by the United States Secret Service. She had a team of advisors, aides, and other staff members who assisted with policy, scheduling, and public relations, most of whom worked a stone’s throw away at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (next to the White House) and in the U.S. Capitol.
As Vice President, Harris became President of the United States Senate, catapulting into a role of authority to preside over sessions and cast tie-breaking votes. This was an impressive promotion for someone serving as a junior senator from California only a few months prior. Harris also represented the United States in high-level international meetings, summits, and ceremonies.
However, voters understood that Harris was experiencing all the above privileges primarily because she identified as a Black woman. Voters knew how South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn had rescued Biden’s disastrous candidacy in the 2020 primaries by demanding that Biden elevate Blacks and other minorities to positions of power should he win the presidency. The Biden administration became America’s first DEI government where identity mattered more than competence.
To millions of voters, including intellectual leaders of the Civil Rights movement, America had “turned a page,” a theme to which Harris turned when she became the 2024 nominee. Americans were willing to elevate a Black woman to the second-highest office in the land; ascending one more step could happen if Americans voted in their collective guilt, addressed centuries of the country’s discriminatory past, and made Harris the first Black woman president.
In their haste to see this momentous spectacle, Harris’s supporters forgot that competence matters more to voters. Voters could not risk a Harris presidency, for what they had seen her do as vice president was a disaster. Harris failed miserably as the drug czar, the one role she assumed to help address the root cause of unprecedented illegal migration. Her economic stewardship with President Biden was so off that even Biden’s chief economist conceded that he was “confused, guilty, and facing a moment of ‘cognitive dissonance’.”
On November 5, Harris lost so overwhelmingly that she left the Democrat party utterly rudderless. Trump soundly defeated Harris in the six states that had moved to the Blue column in 2020 (Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan). Harris lost the Senate for the Democrats, who now only have a 47-53 margin in the chamber. The GOP retained the House, as well as the majority of the state governors’ mansions, and control of the state legislatures. It was a rout that brought to memory Jimmy Carter’s electoral performance in 1980.
In the future, women of color who want to ascend to the White House will always have the specter of the Harris campaign over them. If an incumbent vice president, who instantly assumed Biden’s impressive campaign infrastructure and donor network that forked over nearly $2 billion, couldn’t defeat an outsider candidate like Donald Trump, what would a woman of color do to win against a traditional GOP-MAGA candidate with a less complicated history?
There’s also the issue of the bench, which we count to be three. Two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, just won six-year terms to the United States Senate. Other than Michelle Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico governor whose term expires in 2026, no women of color occupy governors’ mansions. Most Americans have not heard of these women. Michelle Obama could announce that she would run in 2028 and instantly win the name-recognition game, but she has repeatedly turned down a chance to run for office. Besides, by then, it would be 12 years since she was last in the White House, and the country would have moved on past the Obama years.
The ongoing underrepresentation of women of color in American politics will likely extend for years. Worse, it may take decades for a woman of color to ascend to the White House after winning a competitive primary. Thanks to Kamala Harris.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Syrian Opposition Sweeps Into Aleppo, Russia Conducts Strikes In Support Of Al-Assad – Al Arabiya
The Syrian army said dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack led by opposition fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
Russia’s defense ministry said its air force had carried out strikes on Syrian opposition fighters in support of the country’s army, Russian news agencies reported. The strikes followed the boldest opposition assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.
2. Iran, Russia Foreign Ministers Say They Support Syria Amid Major Opposition Attack – Al Arabiya
The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia voiced support for Syria on Saturday during a major attack by opposition groups, Iranian state media reported.
Iran’s Abbas Araghchi told Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the attacks were part of an Israeli-U.S. plan to destabilize the region, state media said.
3. Trump Has Sought Orban’s Take On Ukraine War – RFE/RL
According to sources, President-elect Donald Trump has held multiple phone conversations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban since winning the November 5 presidential election.
Preparations are reportedly underway for Orban to take a second crack at a peace mission in December to bookend Hungary’s rotating EU presidency after his first attempt in July when Budapest’s tenure started.
4. Georgia’s President Will Not Step Down Until ‘Illegitimate’ Election Rerun – Al Jazeera
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of the governing Georgian Dream party, says she won’t leave office next month as parliament is fraudulently elected.
Thousands of Georgians protested on Saturday for a third straight night after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the government will suspend talks on EU accession.
5. China To Extend Tariff Exemptions For Some U.S. Products To 2025 – Reuters
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said China will extend tariff exemptions for the import of some U.S. products until Feb. 28, 2025.
The listed items, including rare earth metal ore, medical disinfectant, nickel-cadmium battery, and others will remain exempt from additional tariffs imposed as countermeasures to the U.S. Section 301 actions, the commission said.
6. U.S. Approves $385M Arms Sale To Taiwan – Al Jazeera
The U.S. expects to begin delivering the military equipment, including spare parts for fighter jets and radar systems, in 2025, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
The DSCA said the sale, which the U.S. Department of State approved, will ensure Taiwan can “meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness” of its F-16 fleet.
7. Trump Promises 100% Tariffs On BRICS Nations If They Create Rival Currency – UPI
Writing on his Truth Social social media platform, Trump said the so-called BRICS nations- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa- could “wave goodbye to America” if they advance plans to develop a common currency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg that the member countries should work closely to overcome problems standing in the way of creating a common currency to challenge to the U.S. dollar and the Euro.
8. Most In Germany Want Australia-Style Social Media Ban: Poll – D.W.
The support for the ban reflects the view of most of the 2,000 people surveyed that social media is likely or certain to hurt children and adolescents.
According to the YouGov poll, seen by the dpa news agency, some 77% of respondents said they would either “fully” or “somewhat” support similar legislation in Germany.
9. Japan To Provide Defense Equipment To Philippines, 3 Other Nations – Kyodo News
A government source said Japan plans to provide defense equipment to the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Djibouti under its official security assistance to the armed forces of like-minded countries that share its values.
Tokyo launched the OSA grant aid in April 2023 to help recipient countries ramp up their defense capabilities amid security concerns like China’s growing military assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
10. Kenya And Uganda To Mediate Ethiopia-Somalia Dispute – Reuters
Kenya’s President William Ruto said he and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni would help mediate a dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia, threatening the region’s stability.
Landlocked Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in Somalia to fight al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, has fallen out with the Mogadishu government over its plans to build a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland, in exchange for possible recognition of its sovereignty.
11. Warren Buffett Is Selling Apple And Bank Of America Stock And Piling Into This High-Yield Investment Instead – The Motley Fool
Warren Buffett (through Berkshire) sold off $133 billion worth of stock through the first nine months of 2024, the bulk of which was Apple stock. Between July and October, Berkshire sold at least $10.5 billion worth of shares in Bank of America.
Right now, the best use he sees for that cash is to pile it into short-term Treasury bills. Treasury bills maturing between one and six months offer yields of 4.5% and 4.65%, respectively. That’s still higher than the 10-year Treasury yield as of this writing. Buffett is more than happy to collect that interest while he waits for an appropriate investment opportunity.
12. Is Trump Media Going to Acquire a Cryptocurrency Trading Business? Here’s What That Could Mean For The Stock. – Motley Fool
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) isn’t profitable or generating much revenue, but the one thing it does have is cash, and it could soon put that to work. The company’s business centers around its Truth Social platform, and it has been looking at expanding into other areas as well, including streaming video.
Trump Media & Technology Group is reportedly considering acquiring Bakkt Holdings. Bakkt runs a cryptocurrency trading platform. The acquisition could make Trump Media more attractive to crypto enthusiasts, but it would come with significant risks.
13. Common Thyroid Medicine Might Weaken Bones – HealthDay News
Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone often prescribed to treat hypothyroidism. People with the condition don’t make enough thyroxine on their own, which can cause weight gain, fatigue, hair loss and eventually lead to serious, even deadly, complications.
A normal range for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the blood is between 0.4 to 5.0 microunits per milliliter. Excess TSH has been tied to increased risk of broken bones.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
