Vice President Kamala Harris is facing renewed scrutiny after her 2024 presidential campaign declined to clarify her position on reparations for Black Americans, a topic that has become increasingly prominent among progressive advocates.
During her 2019 presidential bid, when Harris was a U.S. senator from California, she expressed support for “some form of reparations” and endorsed legislation to study the matter further. At the time, she pointed to the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and racial segregation as ongoing issues that needed addressing. In a 2019 interview with The Root, Harris stated, “There has to be some form of reparations, and we could discuss what that is,” while emphasizing the effects of past racial discrimination that continue to impact American society today.
The Daily Wire reported that Vice President Kamala Harris faced a fresh round of mockery on Wednesday because her 2024 presidential campaign will not release her “current position” on reparations.
Philip Letsou, who works for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, got the ball rolling by posting to X a screenshot from POLITICO’s “Playbook” newsletter.
The newsletter cited a Washington Post report about advocates hoping Harris would support any reparations for black people like she did during her first presidential campaign in the 2020 race.
But as shown in the screenshot, POLITICO noted that, so far in the 2024 contest — with less than nine weeks until Election Day, “Her campaign isn’t commenting on her current position.”
Harris’s campaign “isn’t commenting on her current position” on reparations pic.twitter.com/7t10pHNjOr
— Philip Letsou (@philipletsou) September 4, 2024
It’s hard to know what Harris actually believes because she refuses to talk to the media, even though they are mostly friendly. Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has only done a single interview with CNN. The vice president has been roundly mocked for her refusal to answer questions from reporters.
On Monday, The New York Post wrote that Harris “brushed past reporters and boarded Air Force Two on Monday with her cellphone out and headphones firmly planted in both ears, a time-honored trick in Washington to avoid pesky questions from the press.
Harris, 59, glanced back and waved at the scrum of reporters near the plane’s steps, pausing again at the top of the ramp to adjust her headphone while at the same time holding her phone up to her left ear.
“She may not have been a senator long, but mastered the ‘Can’t talk, on a call’ play,” noted NBC News White House correspondent Mike Memoli on X.
“PRO TIP: When pretending to be on the phone when you walk past the press to your plane, do not plug in the headphones so others can see and ALSO HOLD THE PHONE TO YOUR EAR,” former Trump 2020 campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh also posted.”
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