The Face of the Law; Who is Kamala Harris, the Democratic Nominee?

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, who has finally withdrawn from the presidential election, has given "full support" to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his successor. Mr. Biden also reiterated that choosing Ms. Harris as vice president was his "best" decision. According to polls conducted before Biden's withdrawal, Ms. Harris would not be able to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, if she were to be officially nominated by the Democratic Party. However, sidelining Harris in favor of another candidate for the Democratic Party is very difficult, as disregarding a female politician of African descent with such a background contradicts the values that the Democratic Party defends. Discarding her could lead to dissatisfaction among female voters or African American or Asian American Democrats. Jim Clyburn, a representative from South Carolina who played a key role in Biden's previous election victory, stated on MSNBC that if Biden ends his campaign, he would support Harris for the Democratic nomination for the presidential election. Kamala Harris, a 59-year-old politician, would become the first woman of color in American history to run for president as a candidate of one of the two major parties if officially nominated by the Democratic Party. She has already been the first woman to reach the office of Vice President of the United States, the highest political position ever held by an American woman. Biden's vice president is also the first African American and the first Asian American to reach such a position. Influenced by her mother and the ideals of the 1960s, Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to a Jamaican father and an Indian-American mother who was a biologist. After her parents separated, Kamala grew up with her sister alongside their mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who also fought for the rights of Indian Americans, significantly influencing her. Ms. Harris referred to this influence when she was chosen as the vice president-elect of Joe Biden, the then-Democratic nominee for the presidential election in 2020. Kamala Harris stated: "She raised us to be proud and strong Black women. She raised us to recognize and take pride in our Indian heritage. She taught us to prioritize family, both the family we are born into and the family we choose." She added, "While teaching us to place our family at the center of our world, she encouraged us to see a world beyond ourselves. She taught us to be aware and empathetic to the struggles of all people, that public service is a noble goal, and that fighting for justice is a shared responsibility. My mother taught me that serving others gives life purpose and meaning." Kamala Harris, after two terms as the District Attorney in San Francisco (2004-2011), was elected twice as the Attorney General of California (2011-2017). She was the first woman of color to serve as District Attorney in San Francisco and also the first woman and first Black person to head the California Department of Justice, the most populous state in the United States. Ms. Harris, who studied at Harvard University and the University of California, is both an advocate for women's and minority rights and, especially during her time as Attorney General of California, displayed a tough stance. For example, at that time, she opposed reducing penalties for minor crimes that often involved cases of ethnic minorities. Harris served as a senator from California in the United States Congress from 2017 to 2021. She was the first American of South Asian descent to enter the U.S. Senate and the second Black senator in American history. On the eve of the 2020 presidential election, she ran for the Democratic primary and performed well in the first debates. Her campaign raised about $1.5 million online within the first 24 hours, and one of her speeches broadcasted by CNN attracted the highest viewership among Democratic candidates. Harris, who presented herself as a candidate to attract young, moderate, and progressive votes, was strongly opposed to the policies of then-President Donald Trump. In foreign policy, Kamala Harris criticized Trump's "isolationist policy," stating that the U.S. withdrawal from agreements like the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, put Americans at greater risk. In the primary debates, the confrontation between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over racial discrimination in the 1970s was one of the most significant moments of the debates. However, over time, Ms. Harris's standing in the polls declined, and she withdrew from the race. Shortly thereafter, Joe Biden, the leading Democratic nominee, introduced Harris as his running mate. Thus, Harris became the first woman of color to be a vice-presidential nominee in a U.S. presidential election. Overall, she was the third woman to hold the title of "vice-presidential nominee" for one of the candidates in a U.S. presidential election. Before her, Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to be nominated as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in the 1984 presidential election. Walter Mondale, the Democratic nominee in that election, lost to Ronald Reagan. John McCain, the Republican nominee, also chose Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election, but McCain also lost that election. Kamala Harris, who has been the first woman of color to serve as Vice President of the United States for the past four years, is now on the verge of securing the Democratic nomination for the November election with Joe Biden's support. After Biden's victory in the election, Kamala Harris became the 49th Vice President of the United States and began her term in this position on January 20, 2021. She dedicated her victory speech to "little girls" in America. Ms. Harris, who has been a critic of many of former President Donald Trump's policies, has also emphasized women's rights since starting her role as Vice President. In her first speech at the United Nations Women’s Conference, she stated that when women are deprived of equal rights, achieving democracy becomes more difficult. Ms. Harris emphasized: "The status of women is the status of democracy." However, the American press during Biden's presidency has written extensively about some of Harris's early mistakes, particularly in diplomacy and internal team tensions. The former senator has continued her passionate defense of women's right to abortion in contested states, for example, visiting Florida and stating: "Currently, due to Donald Trump's policies, more than 20 states have abortion bans. Just today, another abortion ban was enacted here in Florida, and since this morning, four million women in this state have awakened with less reproductive freedom than they had last night. They tell us: 'The extremists who imposed this ban either do not understand how a woman's body works or do not care, it's that simple.'" Whether Harris becomes the official Democratic nominee or not, she is already a symbolic figure in modern American history as a Black woman. Olivier Piton, a French historian who wrote a book titled "Kamala Harris; Pioneer of America," noted her influence from her mother, who before her death told Kamala: "It's great that you are the first, but be careful not to be the last." Mr. Piton added: "I use the term 'pioneer' in my book because she is creating a new path, but others will follow her, and the end of the story will allow us to know whether she has succeeded in becoming a new symbol of America, as Barack Obama may have been, or conversely, whether her efforts will fail?" This French historian emphasized: "We still cannot answer this question, but Kamala Harris has all the potential to become one of the great historical figures of the 21st century for the United States and the West." In recent years, given the challenges that America has faced, she certainly has not had the best record as a Vice President. However, she still possesses some outstanding personality traits, including eloquence and a high level of legal knowledge gained from her education and background in the judicial system. Now, Kamala Harris's image as a woman of law is juxtaposed with that of Donald Trump, who has been accused in several legal cases and even convicted in lower courts.