Despite the lavish admiration exuded at former vice president Kamala Harris during the 2025 NAACP Image Awards, it seems a curious blind spot to ignore the remarkable failure of her 2024 presidential campaign. The audience, evidently unmindful of reality, showered her with enthusiastic applause and multiple standing ovations. She was there to accept the Chairman’s Award, a gesture almost bereft of gravity considering her recent resounding political defeat.
The self-congratulatory gathering was led by NAACP board of directors chair Leon W. Russell. His effusive praise about Harris’ campaign being a ‘force of nature’ rings hollow in the face of her loss in the general elections. He glossed over the fact that President Joe Biden was forced to step away from his re-election effort, leading to her hasty elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket.
One might wonder if the adulations are perplexingly out of place considering the stark reality. Despite the weight of the entire Democratic machinery behind her, Harris was unable to prevent the ultimate victory of the Republican candidate. This severe defeat was particularly poignant, as she lost to none other than President Donald Trump.
During her short-lived campaign which lasted for a paltry 100 days, she managed to cobble together over 75 million votes. Yet, this apparently impressive figure pales in comparison to her opponent’s popularity. Her political career seems to hang in limbo now, sparking speculations of a potential attempt at becoming California governor in 2026 or maybe even another attempt at presidency in 2028.
Since Harris’ humbling retreat from the political limelight, she was compelled to return to her home state of California. Last month, she was seen lending a timid hand in the recovery efforts following the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Even the FireAid benefit event in LA was graced by her attended. One might wonder if these endeavors were helped by the fact that she was no longer burdened by public office duties.
The 2025 NAACP Image Awards marked her first significant TV appearance since her departure from political office. Russell, overflowing with melodramatic praises, called Harris a ‘fighter for all of us’ and predicted that she will ‘continue to be an inspiration’. This woefully ignores the fact that she presided over a failed campaign and missed a golden chance to lead the country.
The event went on to replay the highlights of Harris’ political career, an act that seemed akin to applying glossy layers of paint over a crumbling facade. She was accorded the questionable honor of being the ‘first woman to become a major political party presidential nominee.’ Truth be told, it seems she will be remembered more for her failure than for breaking any glass ceilings.
Harris’ exhibition at the stage involves her audaciously brandishing the badge of a ‘proud lifetime member of the NAACP.’ Rhetoric laden with references to the organization’s origins and their struggle against ‘greed, bitterness and hatred’ are shared. However, this desperate attempt at connecting and seeding inspiration feels like an awkward homage paid to a career that took a nosedive.
Harris went on with the usual fare of political speeches – ‘we organize, mobilize, educate and advocate.’ While such words might have resonated during an active campaign, they seem oddly hollow in the aftermath of a dreadful defeat. Her mentions of faith and strength could do little to mask the bitter sting of political disillusionment.
One can’t help but detect more than a little fatalism in her closing speech. ‘While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office nor by the wealthiest among us. The American story will be written by you, written by us, by we the people.’ She confessed, perhaps a sign of her rueful acknowledgment of the might of the American electorate.
The Chairman’s Award bestowed upon her is ironically meant to recognize excellence in public service and the ability to drive meaningful change. The real question one should ask is what meaningful change Harris managed to exact during her brief and miscalculated thrust at the top of the Democratic nomination? The answer, though elusive, seems as clear as the lack of meaning in her recent defeat.
Inexplicably, the Chairman’s Award has been previously given to figures like Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Danny Glover, Ruby Dee, Amanda Gorman, Rev. James Lawson, then-Senator Barack Obama, former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, and Congress members such as Bennie G. Thompson, Maxine Waters and the late John Lewis. Seems emblematic of an institution that confuses political posturing for genuine impact.
At the end of the day, the 56th NAACP Image Awards took place amid elaborate fanfare at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. One could not ignore the bitter irony of the event – floundering praise and undeserved accolades devoted to a failed political campaign. It inevitably leaves one to wonder if the event was a celebration of success or a desperate attempt to paint failure in a glowing light.
All these occurrences make one wonder about the auditory hallucination that’s been gripping the American political scene. A failed presidential candidate is celebrated with cheer and enthusiasm as if she were victorious. From this perspective, it seems as if we’ve entered a political twilight zone, a spectacle that highlights the decay lurking beneath the surface in the grand old Democratic party.
Given the grandeur of the event, one wouldn’t be wrong in thinking it was a victory celebration rather than a consolation party. However, the reality stares back at us with a defiant gaze. The applause will fade, the standing ovations will disappear, and only the hard truth will remain – that under the leadership of Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential campaign was soundly defeated. Reality, it seems, is often bitter to taste.