The Story of Kamala Harris

from The New York Times I'm Michael. babbaro this is the. [Music]. daily over the next few days at the. Democratic National Convention vice. president kamla Harris will accept her. party's nomination and reintroduce. herself to American. voters today my colleague estad hearnen. looks at the key periods in Harris's. life.

that explain who she is what she. believes and the kind of President she. might. become it's Monday August. [Music]. 19th EST dead thank you for coming in. here thank you having me I'm happy to be.

here so the strange thing about this. election I mean there are a lot of. strange things about this election I'm. like one one of the strange things about. this election is that we have a. democratic nominee who has been the. nominee for what four weeks yeah and did. not go through the kind of year-long. public dissection that generally occurs. when you run for president and makes. everybody very familiar with your life. story by the time you become the nominee. and we actually keep hearing that when. we go out and report about Harris a lot.

of people they're interested in her but. they don't really know who she is and. that's why we want to talk to you we. want to tell the story of kamla Harris. in as full way as possible and you have. spent the past couple of years doing. that not knowing that we would arrive at. this moment but just because it was a. story that you got really interested in. so how do you think about the life story. of KL Harris yeah I think there is often.

an incentive to try to get an easy. answer to who is kamla Harris or what. does she believe in and the thing that I. have learned in covering her over this. time is that you should resist that. desire that there's not really an easy. answer and the boxes that folks try to. put her in whether it be about Identity. or about comparison to past politicians. namely Barack Obama I don't think are. really that helpful in terms of. understanding someone.

whose kind of life and track to this. point has been really singular so. embracing that thesis that this is a. singular person who's resistant to easy. labels where do you think we should. start to try to understand who she. really is what's the first chapter of. this singular story of KL Harris I would. start in her growing up she grows up in. Oakland in the backdrop of the 1960s Bay. Area and is really shaped by her family. and community that around her her mother.

was a scientist at the University of. California Berkeley and a immigrant from. India who came here to learn at the. school and meets her father who is also. an academic there and is a Jamaican. immigrant and importantly they're. activists who were like many people in. that time active in the civil rights. movement and she tells stories when. she's on the trail about going to. marches and rallies from times of being. in a stroller I would also say that the. kind of Multicultural nness and.

specifically the racial identity of the. place she grows up and really matters. this is someone who is growing up really. around not only just a black community. but a very prideful Rich history of. Blackness that you know the Black. Panther's headquarters was blocked from. her house huh and her parents did a very. like intentional effort to place their. children in Black affirmation spaces. they would go to these classes on the. weekend where kids from the community. would come and have these black history. lessons huh it was called the Cactus.

Club and the reason it was called the. Cactus Club is because it was about. black people being able to grow in any. environment and Cactus yeah and that. lives alongside her also having a really. comfortable relationship with the Indian. side of her family I mean she would. traveled to India her parents family. were folks who were fighting for. democracy and their independence. movement she would have those. conversations with her grandfather I. mean so it wasn't someone who I think. was really only defined by one thing but. was very much taught from an early age.

that you exist I'm using a coconut. reference but like you exist in the. context of both of those things right. like and so that was very much an. intentional effort from her. mother and by the time she's in. elementary school she finds herself as a. part of a group of students who are. involved in a desegregation program that. buses them to a different part of town. they're actually the second class of. like black Berkeley to be shipped H big. deal yeah and it's something that really. shapes her growing up I talked to one of. her friends from growing up her name is.

Cynthia Bagby who mentioned remembering. when her and kamla Harris first grade. were at the bus stop being ready to be. busted to a different part of town and. Cynthia told me the story about how. nervous she was about how she didn't. have white friends and she knew they. were kind of being put in a different. situation completely alien Place. absolutely but what Cynthia told me was. that she remembers a Young kamla Harris. being so confident and being so unfaced. by this situation that when they got.

back from school she noticed how kamla. had already 10 friends was kind of. socially running the place everyone. loved her after the first day like the. mayor of the new white school yeah and. so like those were the type of stories. that people would tell that Not only was. there a confidence that flown but there. was a comfort with herself and her. identity that really attracted people to. her and that Comfort you're describing. seems like it would flow pretty directly. from the way her parents raised her the. classes they brought her to and that.

this is an extremely self-possessed. person who knows her spot in the world. absolutely I I remember asking her once. where did this come from you know your. kind of self-belief and I I remember her. saying I was raised to believe that I. belong in every room that I am in and. that is the core of KLA Harris's. self-belief it does not come from the. position she has now it does not come. from status gained later in life it. comes from an instilling of confidence.

and pride that started from the day she. was born and so by the time that KLA. Harris is in high school she knows that. she wants to go to an HBCU to follow in. the footsteps not only of people around. her but of historical figures who she. admire like the third good Marshals of. the world and I think that's an. important choice like why because you're. achieving young people of color there's. sometimes an incentive to follow the. kind of white institutional Elites to X.

place you know go to an ivy league go to. this or that a 15 16 year old with the. world in front of them saying I want to. put myself at Howard University isn't a. small Choice it is a recognition of who. the communities are that matter to them. and their belief that black folks can. shape them to be excellent period how. does the next chapter of her life her. chosen career as a prosecutor. how does that flow from everything that.

you're just describing all this pride in. being a member of the black community. because in my perhaps naive mind being. in law. enforcement in the period when she's. coming out of Howard seems like it might. be in conflict with being a proud member. of a black community that American law. enforcement is increasingly seen as. having a very adversarial relationship. with yeah I think this comes up all the. time and to be clear it came up when she.

was growing up I mean when I talk to. people from Oakland they say that when. Young kamla Harris they're like shining. Community star decided to become a. prosecutor it was a topic of. conversation among her family and. friends like kind of what you do in sis. you know and what was her answer well. she's talked about this a lot in. speeches and interviews and taken people. through how she thinks about this. decision when it came time to make my. career choice my family gathered around. and they said okay kamla so what are you. going to do doing your fight for justice.

and I got all excited and I said well. I've decided I'm going to be a. prosecutor well now if you have any. sense of who my family is you will know. that at best they found it a curious. decision and with some of them I had to. defend the decision like one would a. thesis she knew she was making a kind of. controversial choice I believe safety is. a civil. right a civil right.

to which all people are entitled and. let's talk about a myth a myth that. black people don't want Public Safety. that is simply not true and part of the. reason she gives is that Minority. communities and specifically black. people deserve safety and I said you. know why is it that we should only be on. the outside of. systems isn't there a role also for us. to play on being on the inside where the.

decisions are being made and to go back. to context I think it's important to. recognize this is the 1980s this is a. generation of black people that are. coming after the Civil Rights Movement. that have access to institutions and. kind of Halls of power for the first. time and for a lot of those people there. was a real ethos of you need to do. something with that you need to wield. these instruments of power to be more. responsive to Black communities you. could enter those Halls and make them.

things that worked for black people okay. what does it look like when she gets. inside these Halls of power actually. becomes a prosecutor how does she put. this philosophy about representation and. change into practice well she runs for. district attorney in San Francisco and. she frankly makes her whole kind of. public pitch around this idea that it's. not empathetic to say don't lock anybody. up and so that's how she wins that first. race but she also does it I think.

through representing a vision of the. future rather than past right her. identity is laced into that argument so. the fact that she's young the fact that. she's a person of color the fact that. she is a woman are all things that. really matter it is not about the. identity but that has always been an. implicit part of the pitch she was. making an argument that was about the. policy not about her identity but her. identity obviously came with the package. of her as a candidate yes comes with the. package of the candidate and is part of.

the reason that she's arguing that these. institutions can do something different. is because I represent something. different and when she wins office what. it looks like for her to put this into. practice is a set of policies that I. think really kind of add up to the. earliest versions of What We Now call a. progressive prosecutor she says that you. can be focused on delivering safety and. accountability while you also look at. root causes or try to be empathetic to. people in a way that separates herself.

from what I would describe as the kind. of like crime Bill Joe Biden Bill. Clinton 1990s view of the world well. what's a good example of this one. example I would say is the back on track. program that she started that kind of. was one of the first to allow formerly. incarcerated felons to find their way. back into the workforce she's really. proud of that that's obviously been. something that's been taken nationally. at this point I think it's just a thing. that people agree on should happen there. needs to be bridge between prison and.

the rest of your life but that at the. time was like kind of spicy and that's. one of the things that she piloted the. other thing I would say and the kind of. the thing that blew up is what she was. doing around the idea of treny or The. Chronic absence of children in schools. so one of the things that happened in. the time when she was prosecutor was. there was some data that came out that. showed that people who were incarcerated. usually missed a bunch of school in. their time of growing up that early es. in childhood were indicative of someone.

who might have kind of future criminal. justice problems and so there was a. question of what to do about that. joining us to explain how true and say. impacts the entire family of San. Francisco District Attorney kamla Harris. it is great to have you with us and from. the prosecutor's Vantage Point she. actually tried to take this problem on. and what we've done is we started an. initiative a couple of years ago that. involved um me assigning prosecutors to. go and meet with the teacher when they. met with the parent and so the. prosecutor's there and the parent says. who's that mean person and they say well.

that's the prosecutor because if we. can't fix this problem they may end up. Prosecuting you but by the way the way. we want to fix the problem is we've got. all these services for you she used her. role to Institute a series of policies. that would hold the parents accountable. for chronically absent children and it's. been fantastic because when the. principal would otherwise call the. parents say you know Miss Smith Johnny's. not in class would you return my call. call went unanswered now principal calls.

and says Miss Smith uh you know Johnny's. on a class and by the way that da KLA. Harris is said she might prosecute you. and send you to jail and the call gets. returned basically after a series of. warnings charging the parents if their. kids miss enough school Under the idea. of it would kind of make the kids come. more frequently and stop them from. getting involved in the criminal justice. system kind of before it becomes a big. problem and while that could be good in. theory the reality was that this. resulted and a targeting of kind of.

black lowincome people of color the very. people that she thinks of herself is. trying to improve the lives absolutely. so there were a couple instances. particularly when the program was. adopted by other places that resulted in. parents being kind of per walked that. resulted in charging certain parents and. I think it had the kind of stench of. punitive meanness that was already. coming down on people who had a lot of. problems what do you make of that well. to me it's indicative of a worldview.

that is reflective of a prosecutor I. think if you're a mayor or a City. councelor senate house you know you're. you're used to kind of seeing problems. from a 360 lens and you get kind of. aorded the space to come up with a. vision to solve them that's not really. what prosecutors do they charge or they. don't they react you know they hold. people accountable it's about you know. law enforcement and so this example of. true. is one of the times she tries to take.

that law enforcement view of the world. and apply it to root causes of a problem. and so I think you can see it from a lot. of different Vantage points and one way. it's a progressor prosecutor thinking. about how can I attack a problem at its. roote that's a really kind of. progressive thought right but at the. same time what she did with that was. kind of punitive it was not something. that really attacked the full scope and. then I think had the impact. of frankly reinforcing some of the same.

tropes about these parents and these. communities that I'm pretty sure she. wants to avoid and I think that shows. the limits of that kind of. accountability Viewpoint or perhaps even. the contradictions of it but she seems. comfortable with those contradictions. that on some level yes she's trying to. solve a problem at its roote in so far. as she's able to do it and it might. actually result in some parents getting. in some real trouble parents in the. black community she's there to try to. protect and improve the lives of but.

she's kind of made peace with that I. think so to to a certain extent like for. one on true see she does back off and so. I do think that there were like. academics and kind of progressives who. reached out to that office to say that. you are making a mistake and some of. that eventually landed but I do think. that there is a sense of comfort with. the idea that harm creates. consequences and. some people are going to get locked up.

you know and I think and you might not. like me for it but that's and you might. not like me for it but I think you like. the results of it and I think her view. of the world is accountability can be. empathetic and she rides this approach. to the Attorney General's office and. then eventually to the US Senate and. she's comfortable with that approach. it's when she goes to Washington and. eventually runs for president when a lot. of this becomes uncomfortable. [Music].

we'll be right. [Music]. back so instead take us into the next. chapter of this story here KLA Harris as. a Democratic candidate for president. when this record of hers as a prosecutor. as you just said becomes less. comfortable for her yeah I think about. the 2016 election on that night she was. OB bearing to be the next senator from.

California and there she wins the US. senate seat the night of the Clinton. versus Trump election yes and there was. a sense among Democrats that not only. would Hillary Clinton win but Clinton. would be a transition to a next coming. of democratic stars but a few years down. the road few years down the road but of. course that's not how that night goes. Donald Trump wins and very immediately. Democrats are thrust into this Mass. resistance where they are searching for. for someone who can become the face of.

leading the party out of the rubble and. so she goes from being someone who. should have six years to start to. understand Washington to someone who is. being floated as a possible 2020. presidential candidate it's a real sea. change in the trajectory that she was. supposed to have mhm and as she's having. this kind of open discussion about. what's happening next she has a couple. viral moments that make her a.

celebrity the Supreme Court confirmation. hearings can you think of any laws that. give government the power to make. decisions about the male. body um I think kol really encapsulated. a lot of that I'm happy that answer a. more specific question male versus. female there are um medical procedures. the way she was going at Jeff sessions. and kind of trump figures of the time. some I just a few qualified I if you if.

I don't qualify it you'll accuse me of. lying so I need to be correct as best I. can I'm not able to uh be rushed this. fast it makes me nervous and she becomes. a hero for a lot of these folks and a. driver of democratic fundraising and so. it elevates you from someone who people. are talking about in the background to. being someone who is seen as a star of. the party and that only furthers the. question of running for president and.

frankly I think cements. it and so by the time that she is. actually putting her hat in the ring the. campaign comes up with a strategy I. think is reflective of the things we. were talking about before they don't. want to choose an ideological Lane they. want her to be everything to everyone. and they think that they can do that in. this race and be true to herself and be. true to. herself oh what's up fol. [Applause].

and I remember the announcement speech. she gave in Oakland where there was. 20,000 people outside it was just a. couple of blocks from this very spot. nearly 30 years ago as a young district. attorney I walked into the courtroom for. the first time and said the five words. that would guide my life's. work kamla Harris for the people and she. told of clear story about why she became.

a prosecutor about what her vision was. going forward now I knew our criminal. justice system was deeply flawed but I. also knew the profound impact law. enforcement has on people's lives and. its. responsibility to give them safety and. dignity I knew I wanted to protect. people and I knew that the people in our. society who are most often targeted by.

predators are also most often the. voiceless and. vulnerable and on that point I believed. then as I do now no one should be left. to fight. alone and I think was really reflective. of the vision of what that campaign. thought they could do and the story. you've been telling here and the story. we've been telling here the problem was. that's not how that primary went. it wasn't a primary that was really.

about working with institutions to make. marginal gains right it was about. blowing them up to a degree yeah and. over the next several months good. evening Senator thank you for being here. you position yourself as a line with the. Progressive Movement to make criminal. justice less punitive and racist yet. your record as a prosecutor shows that. you embrace the tough on crime mentality. as activists are creating litness test. about what Progressive means about what. constitutes Criminal Justice Reform well. you support the Bernie Sanders bill. which essentially get I supp Medicare.

for all but I really do need to clear up. what happened on that stage it was in. the context of saying let's get rid of. all the bureaucracy let's get all of the. we oh not the insurance companies no. that's not what I meant I know it was. forcing her to like answer more specific. questions about you know what Health. Care Systems should look like and things. like that this is the year where the. moderators are always asking the. Democratic candidates on the debate. stage to raise their hand if they think. that Private health insurance should go. away yeah you've been asked and sort of. clarify this question a couple of times.

over the course of the campaign so once. and for all do you believe private. insurance should be eliminated in this. country no you don't no I you raised. your hand last but the question was. would you give up your private insurance. for that option and I said yes oh I. think you heard it differently than. others then probably because I that's. what I heard and the primary became more. and more about structural change and. about how you articulate policy Visions. she fell further and further behind. partly because that's not how she.

functions you know and so at the time in. when she was supposed to introduce. herself to the country I think the. campaign was telling a fairly. inconsistent story about who she was. personally and who she was ideologically. and people weren't really responding to. that and that feeling ends up overtaking. the. campaign we are confirming that Senator. kamla Harris plans to drop out of the. 2020 presidential race Miss Harris. entered the race as a major force on the. campaign Trail you recall she had a huge.

crowd in Oakland but she failed to. capitalize on that early enthusiasm and. plummeted in the. [Music]. polls that race and the way you're. describing it instead makes me want to. understand what happened to that. self-confident person who doesn't want. to check the boxes and knows who she is. and says accept me on my own terms. obviously one of the answers are the.

debate stages and the lit Miss tests you. just mentioned but we all know what. happened in that race the person who won. the Democratic primary was the person. who all of those tests off and the. person who sounded the most like KLA. Harris Joe Biden right equally. associated with moderate politics Law. and Order defending the police and. working within the system yes it she. could have done what he did absolutely. there wasn't as if those positions were. incompatible with the Democratic. electorate but what Joe Biden was.

willing to do in that primary that K. Harris wasn't was tell those Progressive. groups to you know they flipped him off. I mean he told them I don't care what. your litus tests are this is who I am. you're going to take this experience and. most importantly Joe Biden was telling a. consistent story about electability I. can beat Trump and that's what you need. to focus on that was not where other. people were and most importantly Harris. was pulled away from what I think that. self-confidence. was I mean it goes back to this idea.

perhaps that this just happened too fast. she wasn't ready I think so you know. when you're a journalist asking Bernie. Biden even Warren a question they've. spent so much time thinking about. running for president and their. worldview they return to a core belief. they return back to a basic fundamental. understanding they have about why. problems are the way that they are MH. and no matter what question you ask. even if they don't fully know they're.

going to return back to that core what. was missing from Harris in my opinion of. 2020 was that sense of core and so when. she was asked questions on Arenas she. was uncomfortable in you could feel her. swimming for an answer and I think that. read as inauthentic and particularly. when you're not a figure that people. already know right and so in her moment. of introducing herself to the country.

she was the most distant from the person. she's always been and I think that Gap. is what doomed that campaign and then of. course out of the ashes of this pretty. abject failure of a campaign comes the. vice presidency yeah and I think it's. important to remember how she drops out. in a way I think was really sudden for. people and almost immediately you saw. the tide of kind of sympathy turn in the.

Democratic party I think toward her. toward her fasting people saying maybe. we were too hard on them and that. started immediately and so by the time. Joe Biden becomes someone who's looking. for a VP and then importantly makes a. pledge to choose a woman right in that. summer A lot changes between the time. that Biden becomes the nomin in the time. in which he's selecting a VP you have. not only the onset of the pandemic right. and the shutdown of the country but you.

also have the explosion of the racial. Justice protest that happened after. George Floyd's murder and so the. conversation around Biden's VP selection. gets wrapped up in both of those facts. and you have a pretty open debate among. the party about whether he has to choose. a black woman so now there's pressure. not just to choose a woman but to choose. a black woman right and so I think there. was a feeling that if you did not choose. KLA Harris you were skipping over the. most qualified black woman and so the. campaign chooses Harris and I think it's.

important to remember it was their best. fundraising day that they had had all. year when they chose hars but the result. of this and I want you to correct me if. I'm in any way wrong about this is that. she's being put in something of an. identity box and she doesn't like. identity boxes it's true and I think. that she does not like being identity. first as the reason she's in the room. even if that's part of her worldview it.

is a very understandable feeling to say. I don't want to be here only because I'm. black South Asian woman period And it. created a situation where the Dei higher. framing that obviously Republicans have. latched on to was always in the air with. her selection and I think frankly it. reflects the thinking of the Biden Inner. Circle at the time the under estimation. they had of both her and I think their.

misconceptions about the political. moment at large explain that well I. think it's most clear in the policy. portfolio she takes on she was assigned. what I think is universally seen as a. horrible electoral platform which is the. root causes of migration in certain. Central American countries right it's. like asking someone to like kind of. solve the greatest riddle in the last 50. years of American foreign totally and. Harris knew this was an electoral loser.

she actually asked out of the assignment. and Biden can I have something else. please yeah and Biden made clear no this. is what I want you to do and it has. immediate impacts I want to be clear to. folks in this region who are thinking. about making that dangerous track to the. United States Mexico border think about. the infamous press conference she had. with the president of Guatemala talking. about immigrants yep do not.

come do not come the interview she had. with Lester hold about whether she went. to the Border or not there was an. understanding that this was a political. loser but it was something that they. tasked her with and that she frankly. just had to Soldier on from the other. thing that happens and I think this is. natural with kind of VP office versus. West Wing was there was a push and pull. about which events to use her at. particularly in the first couple years. and to the point about not being being. want to be put in a box of race and.

gender there was a story I heard about a. time in which the West Wing wanted her. to be used at this event where there was. the baby formula shortage that was. national news totally and the. administration was doing some efforts to. try to make sure they could get more. formula and there was a plane landing. that was filled with formula and the. administration wanted to do a kind of. photo op taking credit for solving baby. formula crisis classic political. maneuver and they Harris to go and again.

to the point about when is identity. helpful versus when does it put you in a. box this is something she didn't want to. do be kind of woman yeah be put in that. box and I think it reflects the hard. choices that sometimes identity can put. you in and so particularly in those. first couple years that was a push and. pull between her and white house but she. largely takes on the assignments that. the White House gives her and most. importantly she Main Mains an intense. sense of loyalty to President Biden that.

he really appreciates and so it matters. to him that she says yes when he. reassigns her that immigration. assignment and that she goes to. Guatemala and she does those things. right she does almost all the things she. does the things that are required of her. so the impact is that for the first. couple of years of her as VP she's still. dealing with some of the clouds that. hung over her during the presidential. race there is a sense that you don't. really know what she's doing. but.

think around. 2022 this is the first time in the. history of our nation that a. constitutional. right has been taken from the people of. America after the do's decision it. creates a lane for her in the. administration that she really latches. on to I do know that the American people. fight for freedom and believe in the.

woman's right to make decisions about. her own body and she becomes the. spokesperson for the administration on. the issue and becomes the liaison. between abortion rights groups and the. White House what has happened here in. Arizona is a new inflection point it has. demonstrated once and for all that. overturning row was just the opening. act just the opening act of a larger. strategy to take women's rights and.

freedoms she starts embracing the. language of you know freedoms and. Democrats protecting Reproductive Rights. and now because of Donald Trump more. than 20 States in our nation have bans. now because of Donald Trump one in three. women of reproductive age in our country. live in a state that has a trump. abortion ban the stump speech was better. it just clarified her pitch because she.

can go back to something that a lot of. people really care about and most. importantly is at the top of Democrats. list and so I think the first couple. years are education in Washington that. may not have happened before she was. running for president but what happened. after that was she traveled across the. country and I think took on a lot of the. campaigning efforts that Biden was not.

doing and so as a result she became. someone who was more comfortable doing. those interactions in the place she. wasn't in 2019 and perhaps this is why. she's ready for what ends up being this. extraordinary moment that she encounters. a couple of weeks ago yeah and I think a. lot of people were surprised at the. speed to which the party unified around. her but it is explained a little more by. the work she's done over the last couple. years when she was going to events as VP.

she was calling DNC members and creating. those relationships she was checking in. with donors she was kind of growing a. back room reputation of someone who. could lead the party if necessary and so. when Biden drops and endorses her she. leaned on all of those things to really. coales support very quickly and I think. there was a greater willingness to see. her as someone who could step up to the. top of the ticket because of the. Advocacy she was doing on issues like. abortion over the last couple years.

right and so she laid the foundation to. really seize that opportunity once it. arried and yet that's the story of party. insiders rallying around her perhaps. instead because of what she did over the. past two years as vice president but it. still feels true that the American. public doesn't really know what she. stands for and exactly who she is and at. this point it's unclear whether that's. going to matter in a race where there. was so much unhappiness about Biden and. Trump but that's a unusual thing as we. said at the beginning of this.

conversation yeah I mean a lot of the. work we were talking about to your point. is Insider political stuff for most. people I think she was running for. president she became vice president kind. of went away and now she's the nominee. and so I think that is the reason why. Republicans are trying to paint her as. kind of flimsy and. non-substantive and although at this. moment she's been able to step away from. 2019 and say hey that wasn't the real. version of me I do think it leads to the.

question okay what is then MH and I. think over the next 3 months the onus is. on the campaign to tell that story and I. think that starts at the DNC well let's. talk about that story for just a second. because there is a clear story to tell. right of a young girl who grows up in. Black Oakland child of activists becomes. a prosecutor in the name of bringing. that identity and pride inside an. institution that she thinks needs to. change with her at the center of that. change and the application of that. approach of hers to criminal justice an. approach that like Harris herself defies.

being easily put into boxes it's the. story of somebody who believes you can. be multiple things at the same time you. can be an empathetic Progressive but. also believe in punishment and in. accountability but my question is is. that a story which we know she didn't. want to tell in 2019 2020 that she wants. to tell now the story that you have been. telling us here yes is that going to be. at the center. of her campaign yes I think that the.

biggest change from 2019 to now is a. comfort with that story and a political. moment that's more ready to receive it. mhm and so already she has said the. words prosecutor maybe more than she. said in four years ago and with Donald. Trump on the other side a convicted. felon with looming charges. accountability is on the comeback and. she was going to own that typ of framing. so a story very faithful to who KL.

Harris was that was hard to sell last. time she ran and that she kind of ran. away from now feels like the story she. should be embracing and that the country. might very much Embrace yeah I think she. will return to that articulation and so. the moment of unity we're seeing now was. always kind of under the surface. possible and I think a lot of that is. because she is a vessel that you can see.

what you want to see in if you want to. see a progressive there's enough there. you probably can if you want to see a. moderate you probably can see that too. and so what I think is one of the. stories here is a ideological. fluidity that was once seen as a problem. is now being seen as a solution h i. we're talking about KLA Harris here as a. candidate in a race it's going to be.

over in a few months and you're. suggesting that her ideological fluidity. might benefit her in a race like this if. she wins though the question's going to. become what does that fluidity mean yeah. for her as actual president in the hot. seed and what kind of philosophy is this. former prosecutor who as you've laid it. out has always been most comfortable. thinking still in the mind of a Law and. Order person what's that going to look.

like when she's commanderin-chief and. leader of the Free World absolutely. there's no we don't know but come. governing time all of this fluidity will. be put to the. test and we don't know what type of. President she would be I mean we don't. know kind of what the agenda of a Comm. haris Democratic party would look like. and how that would differ from the one. that Biden has laid out. but frankly if you ask any Democrat they.

would say that's tomorrow's problem and. as long as she wins the election and. stops Donald Trump from winning another. term they don't. care they really don't. care they'll deal with that then right. that's the thing about a tomorrow. problem yeah you deal with it tomorrow. yeah yeah who cares oh dead thank you. very much really appreciate it thank you. for having me.

the Democratic National Convention will. begin this morning in. Chicago President Biden is scheduled to. deliver a prime time speech tonight in. which he will make the case for electing. Harris as his. successor Harris will address the. convention herself on Thursday night in. Her speech she's expected to lean. heavily on her biography a especially. her time as prosecutor to argue that she.

not Donald Trump is the right person to. lead the United States into the. future we'll be right back. [Music]. here's what else you need to another day.

a new poll from the times released over. the weekend highlights just how much. vice president Harris has changed the. presidential race since becoming the. nominee it showed Harris competitive. with Donald Trump in four crucial sunb. states where Trump's advantages had. seemed insurmountable just a few weeks. ago Arizona Georgia Nevada and North. Carolina and of officials in Chicago say. they expect thousands of protesters at.

this week's convention where they are. expected to Stage demonstrations every. single day many of the protests will be. focused on Israel's military campaign in. Gaza and what activists see as the. complicity of both Biden and Harris in. the deaths of Palestinian civilians. [Music]. today's episode was produced by Stella.

tan M zi Diana win and Luke Vander plug. with help from relle Banja it was edited. by paig cowt and Brendan clink andberg. contains original music by Maran Lozano. Dan Powell Diane Wong Rowan IMO and Cory. shle and was engineered by Chris Wood. our theme music is by Jim brunberg and. Ben Lanser of. wonderly that's it for the Daily almost. if you want more news and I suspect you.

do check out our other Daily News show. it's called the headlines it brings you. the day's top stories along with. analysis from times reporters all in. about 10 minutes or less and you can. subscribe to it wherever you get your. podcasts I'm Michael Boro see you. tomorrow. [Music].