Kamala Harris, explained in 7 moments

The rise of Kamala Harris, from San Francisco prosecutor to presidential nominee.

Vice President Kamala Harris is potentially on the verge of becoming one of the most powerful people on Earth. At the same time, in part because her rapid ascent to the Democratic presidential nomination didn’t involve the sustained public attention of a long presidential primary, she’s more of a cipher to many Americans than major party presidential nominees typically are. So who is Kamala Harris? In this video, we hand that story over to four reporters who have covered her at different points in her career.

Kamala Harris first entered public life as the elected district attorney of San Francisco. She tried to distinguish herself from her predecessor, known for taking a progressive approach to crime, by calling herself “smart on crime.” She spoke more clinically and quantitatively than ideologically; she talked about numbers, not ideas or politics. That continued in her next role as California’s attorney general, in which she was often hard to pin down ideologically and reluctant to take political stances. But that role also made her a household name in California, and after six years as attorney general, she won the state’s US Senate race.

Harris quickly became a well-known senator, but not for speeches or policy. Instead she found fame as the Democratic Party’s chief cross-examiner in the Senate, grilling Trump administration officials in confrontations that excited Democratic voters and sparked a movement for her to run for president in 2020. However, the Democratic Party had by that point become more ideologically progressive, and her record of being “smart on crime” no longer played as well with those voters. She struggled to find a political lane in the Democratic primary, and her run was short-lived. But when Democrats ultimately chose Joe Biden as their nominee, Biden vowed to pick a woman as his running mate. And after a summer in which the death of George Floyd and the massive ensuing protests sparked a national reckoning around race, Harris rose to the top of his list.

As vice president, Harris struggled to find a role in the administration. Biden tasked her with an unenviable job: solving the “root causes” of undocumented immigration to the US. It was neither her area of expertise nor her ideological strong suit, and after a disastrous TV interview, she retreated from public view. But after the US Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, things started to change. Harris had an expertise and authority on reproductive rights that Biden lacked, and she became the administration’s spokesperson on the topic, finding her voice and footing in public life again.

In July 2024, an unpopular and visibly aged Joe Biden withdrew from his reelection campaign, endorsing Kamala Harris as his successor. Lively and articulate by comparison, Harris quickly captured the enthusiasm of the Democratic Party, gaining momentum in the race against Donald Trump. Her continued success will depend on whether she can grow into the role of a galvanizing, inspirational political figure that she’s struggled to fill in the past.

00:00 Intro
0:16 1. Smart on crime
1:50 2. Not entirely clear
3:28 3. America’s advocate
5:39 4. 2020
8:01 5. Root causes
9:20 6. Overturn
10:45 7. We are not going back

Sources and further reading:

“The Secret to Understanding Kamala Harris,” by Jamilah King:

“The Kamala Harris Problem,” by Elaina Plott Calabro:

[irisalexander]

all you need to know about her is she did *_NOT_* just fall out of a coconut tree.

[bubbaowww]

hm I was expecting this to be a total pro-Kamala puff piece but it was actually pretty fair and even-handed?

[joshmead]

"She's great at asking questions but not answering them" is a great take

[ContentNot]

"I want to be well informed before I give my opinion" is something we really need again.

[YetiCoolBrother]

"She usually checks the vibe of how people are feeling first before she gives her opinion" I mean... that's a good thing as a politician who's supposed to be representative of the people, no?

[geocyo]

I think this was a fair assessment of VP Harris.

[thegreatmoustachio]

I know very little about her, but I can definitely appreciate a politician who takes the time to learn about an issue before taking a position. If we had more people like that, I don’t think our nation would be so polarized…

[fds]

Her hesitancy in a stance some stances shows she thinks before she speaks. And she does not speak on things she doesnt know… speaks volumes compared to Trump’s lies and empty promises built in fear planting

[DrKim]

"NOT GOING BACK" is directly antithetical to "Make America Great Again". Brilliant.

[DreamBrookLabs]

Balanced coverage. This is what good journalism should do. Need more of this.

[clevername]

"You may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last" is such beautiful and powerful advice. Her mother was a wise woman.

[VisualNerd]

This explains why she was absent from the media and haven’t heard from her, but it looks like she has grown into her role.

[jdflores]

The fact that the “we’re not going back” phrase literally a fire under her campaign is because this is what people feel passionately about out. The best part of this is that that phrase came out completely natural.

[berttorpson]

Can we get a podcast with her talking about policy for a couple hours?

[Organized.Chaos.]

"She's not going to rock the boat", WHAT?!? She is planning on taxing peope on their UNREALIZED GAINS! THAT WILL CAPSIZE THE BOAT!

[maximuscraig]

I think Kamala’s career, regardless of opinions on her policy or as a person, has been so interesting. Watching how the way she presents her positions over time, and the differences in how she’s been seen as a tough, effective senator to clumsy, memey VP to a sudden beacon of hope for the Democratic Party has been so unusual

[ciscom]

After watching this video I still don’t know her policies

[cepjb]

If you guys think a 13-minute video is enough to explain a candidate to you, this is part of the problem.

Please take the time to listen to the full speeches and discourses of both candidates, whether you like them or not, use your brain and form your own opinion on whether you should vote for them or not. It's really that simple, don't let the media control your thoughts, instead form your own.

[owlyus]

I'm not always in agreement with her, but I like that she gives off this competent civil servant vibe. I think that's her best asset

[Trea-plxr]

Wait didn't illegal immigration from those three Latin American countries go down by like half? El Salvador, Honduras, and ...I forget the third one. She got billions invested in there when she was sent to work on the root cause of migration.