Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t always had the best image, but not because she hasn’t thought about it.
As the 59-year-old prepares to take over from President Joe Biden and accept the Democratic nomination for the top job, Harris hopes that, contrary to the old advertising slogan, there really is a second chance to make a first impression.
Harris has vacillated between portraying herself as a tough prosecutor and a fun-loving woman with a good laugh for most of her political career. She made a name for herself by speaking out about the incarceration of criminals in California as a senator and cross-examining Trump administration officials during committee hearings.
While the viral clips helped boost Harris’s profile, they didn’t necessarily boost her likeability. “Kamala the Cop” became a liability in 2019-20, when former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard attacked her record as a prosecutor and progressives sought criminal justice reform instead of law and order during the George Floyd summer.
Harris then tried to soften her image. Saturday Night LiveMaya Rudolph, who portrays Harris in sketches on the long-running comedy show, summed up her new direction well: “I’m also America’s cool aunt. A funny aunt.” Harris herself has used the nickname “Momala,” which was reportedly given to her by her stepchildren and which doubles as a useful reminder of how to pronounce “Kamala.”
But if the tough prosecutor Harris wasn’t likeable enough, the funny Aunt Momala was often considered a lightweight. Her speeches were often dismissed as empty. She became known more for her laughter than for any achievements in the Biden administration. Her popularity ratings as vice president were persistently low. And the accusation of being unlikable didn’t completely disappear either. She suffered from high staff turnover, and former employees complained about her as a boss.
The last candidate to try to break the glass ceiling, in a campaign against the very same Republican Harris will be running against, was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She struggled with perception. “You’re quite likable, Hillary,” was former President Barack Obama’s response when asked about her in a Democratic debate. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) faced similar problems when they ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Sympathy is a barrier for politicians who are neither women nor liberals, but Harris has a gendered understanding of the criticism as she considers how to position herself.
“As a woman,” Harris told a crowd in an undated clip available on YouTube, “you have to find a balance between being tough and being a jerk.” Then she burst into her trademark laughter.
Harris is now clearly trying to find that balance. She is returning to her roots as a former district attorney and attorney general to distance herself from former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles. It’s also a good way to enter the campaign trail with something other than the Biden administration’s unpopular record.
At the same time, we no longer see the grim Harris warning people not to say “Merry Christmas” until her preferred legislative solution for illegal immigrants is passed. “Joy” was famously the motto of her campaign. She smiles while mocking Trump on the campaign trail.
It remains to be seen whether Harris can maintain this balancing act. She has been criticized for sticking to strict guidelines and refusing to give long interviews, although she has now begun to answer brief questions from the press from time to time.
But the Harris we’ll see onstage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night to accept the nomination will seek to mix determination and exuberance. Her cautious message will include L-words that Democrats of Biden’s generation have been warned against.
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She’s quite nice. She’s quite liberal, but not too liberal. She could lock you up. She’ll laugh.
Psalm 30:5 says, “Joy comes in the morning,” but Harris hopes that joy will arrive on the eve of the last Democratic convention and not disappear until after Election Day.
