In a feeble attempt to rally her followers, Vice President Kamala Harris released a video message this week, post-election. Reeking of desperation, the video portrayed Harris pleading with her dispirited supporters. ‘I must remind you, don’t let anybody steal your power from you. Your power remains the same as before Nov. 5, just like your purpose does’,’ she muttered, a somber figure in what should have been an inspiring address.
Contrary to her intent, though, most of the responses were negative. Many viewers were puzzled as to why such a discouraging video was deemed fitting for public release by her team. There were also some voices expressing worry about her well-being, given the uncharacteristically somber tone of her speech.
Quite noticeably, Harris has been eluding public attention since the election. In what some may call a classic example of ‘out of sight, out of mind’, she has preferred Hawaii’s idyllic settings over addressing her followers’ concerns, vacationing there with second gentleman Doug Emhoff since the previous week.
The video wasn’t much of a substantial engagement either, running for less than 30 seconds. Out of over 16,000 initial responses, a stunning 76% resonated with displeasure, with merely a scanty 12% skewed positively. This data paints a vivid picture of the public’s dissatisfaction with both the contents of the video and with Harris herself.
The origin of the time-stamped content was reportedly from a conference call attended by donors and volunteers earlier in the day. It is in this call that for the first time since her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, she addressed the loss of the election.
Sounding defeated, she’d reportedly mumbled, ‘I am proud of the campaign we ran.’ Ironically, she highlighted that their efforts over 107 days were ‘unprecedented’, suggestive of an unparalleled political failure, given the election outcome.
As if once were not enough, she also pointed out that her campaign had amassed more than $1.4 billion, setting a new monetary record for U.S. presidential campaigns. With such an amount of resources at their disposal, one could only wonder at the lack of success of her bid.
Another oddly amusing moment from the call was when her team admitted they had failed to commit to an appearance on Joe Rogan’s highly popular show. This was in spite of expressing a desire to be on the show, leading to questions about the efficiency and decision-making abilities of her team.
Her team reasoned that scheduling conflicts were to blame for the missed opportunity of publicity for her campaign. Yet, in the end, the widespread sentiment was that such an appearance probably wouldn’t have altered the end result to their favor.
Regardless of her attempts to spin it, the narrative that emerges from her post-election performance is one of strategic blunders, missed opportunities, and an overwhelming rejection by the public, mirrored in the landslide election results.
To her credit, Harris has managed to secure a place in the annals of history, not necessarily for the reasons she would have wanted. Among them, her campaign is likely to be remembered as a failed precedent of overfunded campaigns with underwhelming results, setting a warning example for future presidential hopefuls.
As things stand, Harris also inspires a case study in the books of political strategy, exploring the consequences of weak public engagement, lackluster messaging, and questionable decision-making.
All in all, the events following the election have painted a rather unflattering image of Kamala Harris. Her speeches, actions, and decisions in this period have all but chipped away at the gusty political persona she once projected, laying bare a shell of her former self, unable to weather the storms of political defeat.