![]() From almost the beginning, Harris’s vice presidency has unfolded in a series of brutal headlines: “ Exasperation and Dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris’ Frustrating Start as Vice President” (CNN, November 2021). If vice presidents have historically been tormented by the question of legacy-compelled to wonder not how they will be remembered but whether they will be remembered at all-Harris was assured of a mandatory nod in the history books the moment she was sworn in.īut after nearly three years in office, the symbolic fact of Harris’s position has proved more resonant than anything she has actually done with it. When Biden underwent a colonoscopy in November 2021, Harris served as acting president, becoming the first woman (and first South Asian American) to officially wield presidential authority. Before that, she was the first Black woman in California to be elected as a district attorney. Before that, she was the first woman, Black American, and South Asian American to serve as attorney general of her native California. Before that, she was the first South Asian American and only the second Black woman to serve in the U.S. As Biden’s running mate, she became the first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to be elected vice president. She is the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants- her mother a cancer researcher from India, her father an economist from Jamaica. ![]() Redefining what power looks like has been the theme of every chapter of Kamala Harris’s political career. She said this with a laugh, but it was a studied phrase. Now there was bright, punch-colored wallpaper-chosen, Harris explained, in order to “redefine what power looks like.” ![]() (Who knew there were so many?) The green-striped wallpaper pattern that the Bidens had favored when they lived here was gone. We moved into the library, with its collection of books devoted to the vice presidency. (“I just love circles,” she said.) She gestured at some of the art she’d brought in, on loan from various galleries and collections, describing each piece in terms of the artist’s background rather than its aesthetic qualities-Indian American woman, African American gay man, Japanese American. In the turret room, she pointed to the banquette seating built along the curve. But Harris seemed to enjoy showing me around. There have been no photo spreads, and the designer, Sheila Bridges, signed a nondisclosure agreement. The residence had been redecorated, and in keeping with past practice the work was done without fanfare. Harris is intensely private, so I was somewhat surprised to be invited to her home. ![]() But Harris’s reputation has never quite recovered. Within months of taking office, President Joe Biden was forced to confront a public perception that Harris didn’t measure up ultimately, the White House issued a statement insisting that Biden did, in fact, rely on his vice president as a governing partner. Her first year on the job was defined by rhetorical blunders, staff turnover, political missteps, and a poor sense among even her allies of what, exactly, constituted her portfolio. View MoreĮase and confidence have not been the prevailing themes of Harris’s vice presidency. Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
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