The Michael Knowles Show - July 09, 2024


Scamala： Kamala Harris Unmasked ｜ Episode 2 - That's Senator to You


Episode Stats

Length

38 minutes

Words per Minute

184.60777

Word Count

7,093

Sentence Count

493

Misogynist Sentences

57

Hate Speech Sentences

15


Summary

When most Americans first became aware of Kamala Harris, she was already a senator, and she d already been touted by the legacy media as a potential presidential candidate. She had been treated as the next big thing, a female Barack Obama. But something funny happened on the way to the presidency: the more Americans got to know her, the less they liked her.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Is your home's title still in your name?
00:00:01.940 With one forged document,
00:00:03.220 scammers can steal your home title and equity,
00:00:05.580 but now you can protect yourself.
00:00:07.040 Home Title Lock's million-dollar triple lock protection
00:00:09.040 provides 24-7 title monitoring,
00:00:11.360 urgent alerts to changes,
00:00:12.660 and if fraud happens,
00:00:13.860 they'll spend up to a million dollars to fix it
00:00:15.680 and restore your title.
00:00:17.060 Use promo code DAILYWIRE at HOMETITLELock.com
00:00:19.680 for a free title history report
00:00:21.040 plus a free 14-day trial
00:00:22.660 of their million-dollar triple lock protection.
00:00:25.140 Head over to HOMETITLELock.com now
00:00:27.060 with promo code DAILYWIRE
00:00:28.340 to ensure your title is still in your name.
00:00:30.500 Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Knowles here
00:00:32.020 welcoming you to Skamala.
00:00:35.160 Skamala.
00:00:36.520 Kamala Harris Unmasked.
00:00:37.920 This series reveals exactly why The Daily Wire Plus exists
00:00:40.640 and reminds us of the importance of your membership.
00:00:43.220 We are unveiling the brutal truth about Kamala Harris
00:00:45.260 that the mainstream media dare not touch.
00:00:48.160 Your support enables us to craft content of substance,
00:00:51.300 content that presents you with the facts.
00:00:54.100 Skamala isn't merely an expose of one politician.
00:00:57.000 It's a challenge to the entire corrupt edifice
00:00:59.580 promoting radical ideology.
00:01:01.480 If you've grown weary of the lies
00:01:03.500 from the mainstream media
00:01:04.520 and wish to be part of the solution,
00:01:05.720 come join our ranks.
00:01:06.600 DailyWire.com slash subscribe.
00:01:08.020 Become a member today.
00:01:09.320 Together, we will continue to fight the left
00:01:10.760 and build the future.
00:01:11.960 Now enjoy Skamala.
00:01:13.700 Kamala Harris Unmasked.
00:01:15.480 Absolutely free.
00:01:17.160 Thanks to Tax Network USA.
00:01:18.540 Hey folks, Ben Shapiro here.
00:01:20.820 Welcome to Skamala.
00:01:22.240 Kamala Harris Unmasked.
00:01:23.760 This series is exactly why Daily Wire Plus exists
00:01:26.100 and why your membership is so crucial.
00:01:28.060 We're bringing you the unvarnished truth
00:01:29.360 about Kamala Harris
00:01:30.120 that the mainstream media are too cowardly to touch.
00:01:32.580 This is the kind of hard-hitting,
00:01:34.040 fact-based content that's missing
00:01:35.260 in today's media landscape.
00:01:36.660 While the left-wing outlets spin their narratives,
00:01:38.380 we're committed to giving you the real story,
00:01:40.220 no matter whom it offends.
00:01:41.560 Your support allows us to create content that matters,
00:01:44.100 content that gives you the facts and the truth
00:01:45.740 no one else will because of their own agendas.
00:01:48.020 We're not beholden to corporate interests
00:01:49.280 or political parties.
00:01:50.360 We answer to you, our members.
00:01:52.220 This fight for truth is more important now
00:01:53.720 than ever before.
00:01:55.020 With Skamala, we're not just exposing one politician.
00:01:57.460 We're challenging the entire corrupt system
00:01:59.140 that props up incompetent leaders and radical ideologies.
00:02:02.200 If you believe in honest journalism,
00:02:03.480 if you're tired of the mainstream media's lies,
00:02:05.380 and if you want to be part of the solution,
00:02:06.860 then join us.
00:02:07.620 Go to dailywire.com slash subscribe
00:02:09.540 and become a member today.
00:02:11.020 Let's continue this fight together.
00:02:12.760 The truth matters, and with your help,
00:02:14.040 we'll make sure it's heard.
00:02:15.020 Now, let's dive into Skamala, Kamala Harris unmasked,
00:02:18.800 and see what the left doesn't want you to know.
00:02:21.680 When most Americans first became aware of Kamala Harris,
00:02:24.900 she was already a senator,
00:02:26.060 and she'd already been touted by the legacy media
00:02:28.160 as a potential presidential candidate.
00:02:30.000 There's a great district attorney in San Francisco
00:02:32.240 whose name is Kamala Harris.
00:02:33.720 She's brilliant, she's smart,
00:02:35.580 she doesn't look anything like anybody
00:02:37.100 you ever see on Law and Order,
00:02:38.380 yet she's tough and she's got a big future.
00:02:40.600 They call her the female Barack Obama.
00:02:42.680 There was a reason for that.
00:02:43.920 From the day Barack Obama called her
00:02:45.720 the hottest woman in American politics,
00:02:47.740 I happen to mention that Kamala Harris
00:02:49.520 is the best-looking attorney general in the country.
00:02:51.800 She had been treated as the next big thing,
00:02:54.240 a female Barack Obama.
00:02:55.780 But something funny happened on the way to the presidency.
00:02:58.340 The public got to know Kamala Harris,
00:03:00.420 and the more they saw her,
00:03:01.640 the less they liked her.
00:03:02.860 Her grasping, manipulative inauthenticity
00:03:04.900 grew stronger with every public display.
00:03:07.700 The more Kamala Harris wanted it,
00:03:09.100 the less the American public wanted her.
00:03:17.080 Kamala Harris was sworn into the United States Senate
00:03:19.340 as a senator from California in January 2017.
00:03:22.520 She was determined to make her mark,
00:03:24.320 not in terms of legislation or policy,
00:03:26.460 but in terms of celebrity.
00:03:27.880 The day after her inauguration,
00:03:29.460 she spoke at the Women's March,
00:03:30.920 where she praised the pussy-hatted brigade
00:03:32.880 for their bravery.
00:03:33.660 What a beautiful sight I see.
00:03:36.640 What do my eyes behold?
00:03:39.020 This is an extraordinary day,
00:03:41.740 and we all should be extremely, extremely proud.
00:03:46.600 The circus had begun.
00:03:48.280 Kamala's chief role in the Senate was to play prosecutor.
00:03:51.020 But where she had once appeared even spoken
00:03:52.800 and even somewhat genuine,
00:03:54.320 she now had developed verbal and linguistic tics
00:03:56.480 that made her annoying and cloying.
00:03:58.700 She nodded her head in vehement agreement with herself.
00:04:00.760 Her hand motions were too large,
00:04:02.800 too practiced,
00:04:03.660 her voice ranged into nasal indignation at every turn.
00:04:06.960 And every questioning was a righteously furious assault.
00:04:09.820 So are you aware that there are local law enforcement...
00:04:12.260 ...finish once before you interrupt me?
00:04:14.540 Sir, with all due respect.
00:04:16.280 With all due respect, Senator.
00:04:17.700 Desperate for attention,
00:04:18.860 Kamala tried to play up her supposed authenticity
00:04:20.980 and, at every turn, became more inauthentic.
00:04:23.960 Well, the first thing we've got to do is to speak the truth.
00:04:26.720 And the truth is that these folks are playing politics
00:04:29.720 with public health.
00:04:30.560 So they're engaged in all of this happy talk
00:04:33.840 that is not truth.
00:04:38.380 Let's just go into 2018 and be joyful warriors.
00:04:41.520 I like that term, joyful warriors.
00:04:44.100 Kamala was active in the ouster of Senator Al Franken.
00:04:46.540 After the Minnesota senator was caught with his hands
00:04:48.480 in the cookie jar,
00:04:49.140 or rather, near the breast of a talk show host years before
00:04:51.880 in a picture captured while that host was asleep,
00:04:54.520 Kamala quickly came out for Al Franken's resignation.
00:04:57.400 That, conveniently enough,
00:04:58.760 opened up a slot for her on the Judiciary Committee.
00:05:01.140 And it was from there that Kamala truly began
00:05:03.020 to unleash her unpleasant persona.
00:05:05.080 In 2017, interviewing Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
00:05:07.920 she would not allow him to answer questions
00:05:09.500 and talked over him.
00:05:10.380 The policy is based...
00:05:11.620 Did you ask that it would be shown to you?
00:05:14.280 The policy is based on the principle
00:05:16.820 that the president...
00:05:18.440 Sir, I'm not asking about the principle.
00:05:20.280 I'm asking when you think that you would be asked
00:05:22.260 these questions and you would rely on that policy.
00:05:24.960 Did you not ask your staff to show you the policy
00:05:28.360 that would be the basis for you refusing to answer
00:05:30.460 the majority of questions that have been asked of you?
00:05:31.780 The witness should be allowed to answer the question.
00:05:33.860 In the aftermath,
00:05:34.740 she would complain of being interrupted.
00:05:36.360 The media would predictably pick up that narrative.
00:05:38.260 But Kamala's Senate starring role was yet to come.
00:05:42.240 That starring role came in 2018
00:05:43.740 when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
00:05:45.800 resigned at the age of 81.
00:05:47.540 President Donald Trump,
00:05:48.600 guided by the scholars at the Federalist Society,
00:05:50.580 picked D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh
00:05:53.020 to fill the slot.
00:05:54.460 Kamala saw this as her time to shine.
00:05:57.140 She would single-handedly destroy Kavanaugh
00:05:59.640 and save the Constitution.
00:06:01.540 She immediately released a statement
00:06:02.920 minutes after his nomination,
00:06:04.520 calling him a, quote,
00:06:05.200 direct and fundamental threat to the promise of equality.
00:06:08.260 At the very first hearing,
00:06:09.640 she launched into a long speech
00:06:11.200 introducing herself to the American public
00:06:13.840 as a presidential candidate.
00:06:15.440 I was starting kindergarten.
00:06:18.100 And I was a bus, in a bus,
00:06:20.740 a school bus,
00:06:21.780 on my way to Thousand Oaks Elementary School
00:06:24.420 as part of the second class of students
00:06:28.200 as busing desegregated
00:06:30.280 Berkeley, California public schools.
00:06:32.660 All of this was merely the beginning
00:06:34.340 of Kamala's dishonest pyrotechnics.
00:06:36.560 At the time of the Kavanaugh hearings,
00:06:38.040 the Robert Mueller special investigation
00:06:39.580 into supposed Russian collusion
00:06:41.340 with the 2016 Trump campaign
00:06:42.940 was the top story in the news.
00:06:44.860 So Kamala decided to ask Kavanaugh
00:06:46.440 about whether he himself
00:06:47.580 had been involved in some way in the case.
00:06:49.960 To do so, she threw out a weird theory
00:06:51.980 that Kavanaugh had talked with someone
00:06:53.800 at the firm of Kasowitz, Benson & Torres,
00:06:56.840 the law firm for President Trump,
00:06:58.260 about Robert Mueller.
00:06:59.480 Kavanaugh clearly had no idea
00:07:01.100 what Kamala was getting at,
00:07:02.500 but she persisted.
00:07:03.440 Have you had any conversation
00:07:05.880 about Robert Mueller
00:07:08.180 or his investigation
00:07:10.160 with anyone at that firm?
00:07:14.880 Yes or no?
00:07:16.280 Well, is there a person you're talking about?
00:07:18.380 I'm asking you a very direct question.
00:07:20.100 Yes or no?
00:07:21.280 I need to know the...
00:07:22.860 I'm not sure I know everyone
00:07:24.080 who works at that law firm.
00:07:25.460 I don't think you need to.
00:07:26.520 I think you need to know
00:07:27.160 who you talked with.
00:07:28.340 Who'd you talk to?
00:07:29.240 The next day,
00:07:29.960 all of the focus was on Kamala.
00:07:31.760 Who was she suggesting
00:07:32.980 Kavanaugh had talked to?
00:07:34.660 What sort of corrupt arrangement
00:07:36.020 was she uncovering?
00:07:37.520 The answer?
00:07:38.460 She had nothing.
00:07:39.420 The entire accusation
00:07:40.340 was total nonsense.
00:07:41.820 She literally tried to manufacture
00:07:43.300 a gotcha out of whole cloth
00:07:44.720 in an attempt to catch Kavanaugh
00:07:46.260 in what is called a perjury lie,
00:07:47.860 where somebody lies by accident
00:07:49.620 and then is prosecuted.
00:07:51.040 It didn't work.
00:07:51.980 But all of that was prelude
00:07:53.160 to the big show.
00:07:54.540 On September 16th, 2018,
00:07:56.220 the Washington Post came forward
00:07:57.860 with an extraordinary accusation
00:07:59.340 against Kavanaugh.
00:08:00.360 An accusation from California
00:08:01.660 professor Christina Blasey Ford.
00:08:03.600 Ford alleged that as a teenager
00:08:04.960 some four decades before,
00:08:06.420 she had attended a party
00:08:07.300 where Kavanaugh and his high school friends
00:08:09.040 were drunk and attempted to hurt her.
00:08:10.900 She could not name the location,
00:08:12.320 the date,
00:08:12.920 or the time of the party.
00:08:14.120 She could not name any of the other people
00:08:15.380 present at the party.
00:08:16.820 It turns out that Ford
00:08:17.760 had attempted to make the allegation
00:08:19.320 anonymously originally.
00:08:20.600 She had called Representative Anna Eshoo
00:08:22.540 of California,
00:08:23.500 who had referred that story
00:08:24.460 to Senator Dianne Feinstein.
00:08:26.200 Feinstein had asked for a letter
00:08:27.240 with the details.
00:08:28.500 Presumably,
00:08:29.100 Feinstein didn't find the story
00:08:30.300 all that compelling
00:08:30.940 because it went nowhere.
00:08:32.340 Later, Eshoo went to Kamala Harris.
00:08:34.520 And then,
00:08:35.100 all of a sudden,
00:08:35.940 the information began leaking
00:08:37.020 to the press.
00:08:37.880 Before Ford's testimony,
00:08:39.140 Kamala did an interview
00:08:39.880 with CBS News
00:08:40.620 in which she touted Ford's heroism
00:08:42.040 and said she believed Ford
00:08:43.260 even though she had never
00:08:44.100 actually talked to her.
00:08:45.140 I believe her.
00:08:46.120 Blasey Ford eventually testified
00:08:47.340 before the Senate.
00:08:48.460 Her testimony was vague
00:08:49.780 and questionable.
00:08:50.640 I was pushed onto the bed
00:08:52.240 and Brett got on top of me.
00:08:55.120 He began running his hands
00:08:56.880 over my body
00:08:57.760 and grinding into me.
00:08:59.440 I believed he was going to
00:09:01.700 me.
00:09:03.000 I tried to yell for help.
00:09:05.380 Brett's assault on me
00:09:06.460 drastically altered my life.
00:09:09.080 For a very long time,
00:09:10.520 I was too afraid and ashamed
00:09:12.360 to tell anyone these details.
00:09:15.660 But Kamala stepped in again
00:09:16.760 to call her a hero.
00:09:18.020 You are sitting
00:09:18.880 here before members
00:09:21.060 of the United States Senate's
00:09:22.720 Judiciary Committee
00:09:23.820 because you had the courage
00:09:26.220 to come forward.
00:09:29.040 I want to thank you
00:09:29.660 for your courage
00:09:30.220 and I want to tell you
00:09:30.800 I believe you.
00:09:32.080 I believe you.
00:09:34.320 And I believe many Americans
00:09:35.660 across this country
00:09:36.380 believe you.
00:09:37.040 None of this stopped Kamala,
00:09:38.300 who questioned Kavanaugh savagely.
00:09:39.940 Judge Kavanaugh,
00:09:40.620 have you taken a professionally
00:09:41.820 administered polygraph test
00:09:43.360 as it relates to this issue?
00:09:44.920 So I'm going to ask you
00:09:45.720 one last time.
00:09:47.380 Are you willing to ask
00:09:49.160 the White House
00:09:50.160 to authorize
00:09:51.300 the FBI
00:09:53.020 to investigate the claims
00:09:54.180 that have been made
00:09:54.660 against you?
00:09:55.400 Do you agree
00:09:56.240 that it is possible
00:09:57.640 for men
00:09:58.720 to both be friends
00:10:01.140 with some women
00:10:02.360 and treat other women badly?
00:10:05.760 These were scurrilous attacks
00:10:07.100 designed to destroy
00:10:07.980 Brett Kavanaugh
00:10:08.720 as a judicial nominee
00:10:09.620 and as a man.
00:10:11.060 Kavanaugh would defend himself
00:10:12.080 in passionate terms.
00:10:12.940 This whole two-week effort
00:10:14.860 has been a calculated
00:10:16.520 and orchestrated
00:10:17.680 political hit
00:10:18.680 fueled with apparent
00:10:21.060 pent-up anger
00:10:21.980 about President Trump
00:10:23.300 and the 2016 election,
00:10:26.900 fear that has been
00:10:28.480 unfairly stoked
00:10:29.780 about my judicial record,
00:10:32.180 revenge on behalf
00:10:33.340 of the Clintons,
00:10:34.780 and millions of dollars
00:10:36.660 in money from outside
00:10:38.240 left-wing opposition groups.
00:10:40.140 This is a circus.
00:10:44.180 And indeed,
00:10:44.760 Kavanaugh would be confirmed
00:10:45.700 by the Senate
00:10:46.220 on October 6th, 2018.
00:10:48.200 Akamala had her moment
00:10:49.500 and the launch point
00:10:50.620 for her presidential campaign.
00:10:52.260 Indeed,
00:10:52.680 she announced for the presidency
00:10:53.680 just months later,
00:10:54.720 January 21st, 2019.
00:10:56.720 I stand before you today
00:10:58.520 clear-eyed
00:11:00.200 about the fight ahead
00:11:02.900 and what has to be done
00:11:04.880 and what has to be done.
00:11:06.540 With faith in God,
00:11:08.540 with fidelity to country,
00:11:11.700 and with the fighting spirit
00:11:14.300 I got from my mother,
00:11:16.100 I stand before you today
00:11:23.300 to announce my candidacy
00:11:25.760 for President of the United States.
00:11:29.520 We'll get some more on that
00:11:30.400 in a moment.
00:11:30.720 First,
00:11:31.020 are you still struggling
00:11:31.640 with back taxes
00:11:32.320 or unfiled returns?
00:11:33.420 Nearly one in four Americans
00:11:34.560 owe back taxes.
00:11:35.680 And the worst thing you can do
00:11:36.700 is ignore the problem
00:11:37.500 as penalties pile up,
00:11:38.840 interest accumulates,
00:11:39.740 and the IRS loses patience.
00:11:41.420 Handling this alone
00:11:42.140 can be a huge mistake
00:11:43.280 and cost you thousands of dollars.
00:11:44.940 So I think your best offense
00:11:46.060 is Tax Network USA.
00:11:48.020 With over 14 years of experience,
00:11:49.460 the experts at Tax Network USA
00:11:50.800 have saved clients
00:11:51.760 millions in back taxes.
00:11:53.280 Regardless of the size
00:11:54.140 of your tax issue,
00:11:55.160 their expertise
00:11:55.680 is your advantage.
00:11:57.140 Tax Network USA
00:11:57.820 offers three key services.
00:11:59.460 Protection,
00:11:59.780 compliance,
00:12:00.840 and settlement.
00:12:01.700 Upon signing up,
00:12:02.520 Tax Network USA
00:12:03.200 will immediately contact the IRS
00:12:04.620 to secure a protection order
00:12:05.800 ensuring that aggressive
00:12:07.000 collection activities
00:12:07.740 like garnishments,
00:12:08.760 levies,
00:12:09.040 or property seizures
00:12:09.860 are halted.
00:12:11.060 Even if you haven't filed
00:12:11.880 in a while,
00:12:12.660 Tax Network USA's
00:12:13.400 expert tax preparers
00:12:14.360 will update all your filings
00:12:15.440 to eliminate the risk
00:12:16.180 of IRS enforcement.
00:12:17.140 Then,
00:12:17.560 they'll create a settlement strategy
00:12:18.560 to reduce or completely eliminate
00:12:19.920 your tax debt.
00:12:21.480 The IRS is the largest
00:12:22.280 collection agency
00:12:22.900 on planet Earth,
00:12:23.640 and since tax season is over,
00:12:24.740 collection season has begun.
00:12:26.620 Talk to my friends
00:12:27.160 at Tax Network USA.
00:12:28.100 Call today 1-800-245-6000
00:12:30.520 or visit their website
00:12:31.640 at tnusa.com
00:12:33.340 slash Shapiro.
00:12:34.200 That's 1-800-245-6000
00:12:35.800 or visit tnusa.com
00:12:37.860 slash Shapiro today.
00:12:38.920 Don't let the IRS
00:12:39.560 take advantage of you.
00:12:40.560 Get the help you need
00:12:41.200 with Tax Network USA.
00:12:42.740 Kamala's campaign
00:12:43.520 for the presidency
00:12:44.140 started like a house of fire.
00:12:45.660 The media,
00:12:46.300 focusing on her
00:12:46.940 intersectional credentials,
00:12:48.140 a black woman,
00:12:48.980 a second Obama,
00:12:50.060 saw her as an early front runner
00:12:51.680 in what would undoubtedly
00:12:52.760 be a crowded field.
00:12:54.260 Early polling put her
00:12:55.080 at the top
00:12:55.500 of the Democratic heap,
00:12:56.560 second only to Bernie Sanders.
00:12:58.120 Whom it was broadly believed
00:12:59.140 would decline
00:12:59.900 as the field consolidated.
00:13:01.400 Kamala Harris launched
00:13:02.220 her presidential campaign
00:13:03.120 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
00:13:04.560 with a rally
00:13:05.260 in her hometown
00:13:05.880 of Oakland, California.
00:13:07.220 The event drew
00:13:07.660 an estimated 20,000 people
00:13:09.000 and she attempted
00:13:09.780 to position herself
00:13:10.600 as both the underdog
00:13:11.540 and the popular choice
00:13:12.740 of the black community
00:13:13.580 like Barack Obama
00:13:14.440 before her.
00:13:15.340 Ditching her
00:13:15.780 tough on crime,
00:13:16.940 top cop talk,
00:13:18.020 she spoke of herself
00:13:18.780 as a progressive prosecutor,
00:13:20.560 ready to bring justice
00:13:21.440 and equality
00:13:22.020 to the forefront
00:13:22.660 of American politics.
00:13:23.960 I'm running
00:13:25.140 to fight
00:13:26.280 for an America
00:13:27.320 where no mother
00:13:29.280 or father
00:13:30.480 has to teach
00:13:32.460 their young son
00:13:33.640 that people
00:13:35.340 may stop him,
00:13:37.300 arrest him,
00:13:38.860 chase him,
00:13:39.800 or kill him
00:13:41.120 because of his race.
00:13:43.100 She was positioning
00:13:43.740 herself on the left
00:13:44.640 of the Democratic Party
00:13:45.520 in an attempt
00:13:46.200 to shoulder out
00:13:46.900 potential competitors
00:13:47.680 like Beto O'Rourke
00:13:48.500 of Texas
00:13:48.920 and Elizabeth Warren
00:13:49.700 of Massachusetts,
00:13:50.320 both of whom
00:13:51.220 were widely perceived
00:13:52.020 as direct competitors.
00:13:53.860 America's story
00:13:55.160 has always been written
00:13:57.680 by people
00:13:59.200 who can see
00:14:00.220 what can be
00:14:01.700 unburdened
00:14:02.980 by what has been.
00:14:04.360 She branded her campaign
00:14:05.620 Kamala
00:14:06.240 for the people.
00:14:07.660 That branding
00:14:08.140 was a mistake.
00:14:09.400 Kamala had never been
00:14:10.320 a populist politician.
00:14:11.740 She'd always been
00:14:12.260 the candidate
00:14:12.660 of the elite Democratic Party.
00:14:14.600 Her logo
00:14:14.960 was a disaster area,
00:14:16.120 confusion of too many words
00:14:17.460 and bizarre color scheme.
00:14:18.800 And her
00:14:19.060 for the people slogan,
00:14:20.320 a riff on the prosecutor's
00:14:21.420 introduction in court.
00:14:22.660 Kamala Harris
00:14:23.240 for the people,
00:14:24.180 Your Honor,
00:14:25.000 fell absolutely flat.
00:14:26.500 Nonetheless,
00:14:26.960 she raised huge cash
00:14:28.140 out of the gate.
00:14:28.980 During the first 24 hours
00:14:30.060 of her campaign,
00:14:30.960 she cleared
00:14:31.300 $1.5 million
00:14:32.400 in donations,
00:14:33.540 tying Bernie Sanders'
00:14:34.620 2016 launch record.
00:14:36.440 Within weeks, though,
00:14:37.360 she would begin to flounder.
00:14:38.600 In February 2019,
00:14:39.840 an actor named
00:14:40.420 Jussie Smollett
00:14:41.160 alleged that he had been
00:14:42.240 beaten in the middle
00:14:42.880 of the night
00:14:43.300 on the streets of Chicago
00:14:44.420 by two white men
00:14:45.980 wearing red hats.
00:14:47.440 The two men
00:14:47.960 had been shouting,
00:14:48.780 This is MAGA country
00:14:50.060 as they looped a rope
00:14:51.140 around his neck
00:14:51.780 and threw bleach on him.
00:14:52.840 Who
00:14:53.240 says
00:14:55.640 empire
00:14:56.700 this MAGA country?
00:15:00.080 Seeking to be the first
00:15:01.080 out of the gate
00:15:01.520 to capitalize
00:15:02.060 on this sensational story,
00:15:03.840 Harris tweeted
00:15:04.380 that this was
00:15:04.980 a modern-day lynching
00:15:06.160 and suggested
00:15:06.900 that the alleged incident
00:15:07.860 serve as the basis
00:15:08.760 for pushing a law
00:15:09.520 she supported.
00:15:10.580 As should have been obvious
00:15:11.460 from the outset, however,
00:15:12.540 the story was a lie.
00:15:14.120 Harris had to backtrack.
00:15:15.600 She also jumped
00:15:16.200 into controversy
00:15:16.880 surrounding Joe Biden,
00:15:17.840 her chief rival
00:15:18.460 from the Democratic
00:15:19.300 Political Center.
00:15:20.360 When seven women
00:15:21.060 came forward claiming
00:15:21.820 that Biden had engaged
00:15:22.820 in unwanted touching,
00:15:24.320 Kamala claimed
00:15:25.000 she believed the women.
00:15:26.060 I believe them
00:15:27.260 and I respect
00:15:28.800 them being able
00:15:30.760 to tell their story
00:15:31.500 and have an approach
00:15:32.140 to do it.
00:15:32.960 The money train rolled on.
00:15:34.300 During the first quarter
00:15:34.980 of the year,
00:15:35.440 she raised $12 million,
00:15:36.620 a solid showing
00:15:37.400 for a candidate on the rise.
00:15:38.920 Still,
00:15:39.400 Kamala's campaign
00:15:40.000 struggled with internal
00:15:40.920 organization from the beginning.
00:15:42.680 Reports of infighting,
00:15:43.560 lack of clear strategy,
00:15:44.720 and inconsistent messaging
00:15:45.760 began to surface,
00:15:46.500 hinting at deeper issues
00:15:47.720 that would plague her run.
00:15:48.880 Those stories, of course,
00:15:49.700 would only break out
00:15:50.380 into the open
00:15:50.940 as her campaign
00:15:51.800 began to melt down.
00:15:53.140 That meltdown, surprisingly,
00:15:54.440 began with what should have been
00:15:55.680 Kamala's breakout moment.
00:15:57.180 During the first debate
00:15:57.940 of the primary season,
00:15:59.080 June 27, 2019,
00:16:01.060 Kamala,
00:16:01.520 through luck of the draw,
00:16:02.520 there were two groups
00:16:03.180 of Democratic candidates,
00:16:04.340 faced off against Bernie Sanders
00:16:05.580 and in particular Joe Biden,
00:16:07.020 the former Obama vice president
00:16:08.280 and new presidential frontrunner.
00:16:10.040 This was her opportunity
00:16:11.020 to knock Biden out of the race
00:16:12.240 and to steal his voting base.
00:16:13.920 And she took it.
00:16:14.500 First, she set herself up
00:16:15.800 as the adult in the room
00:16:16.660 by intervening in a spat
00:16:17.640 between other candidates.
00:16:18.780 America does not want
00:16:19.960 to witness a food fight.
00:16:21.040 They want to know
00:16:21.520 how we're going to put food
00:16:22.300 on their table.
00:16:23.440 A canned line went over well,
00:16:24.960 somehow.
00:16:25.680 But then Kamala got serious.
00:16:27.280 She slammed Biden as a racist.
00:16:28.960 It was hurtful
00:16:29.720 to hear you talk about
00:16:32.780 the reputations
00:16:33.880 of two United States senators
00:16:36.700 who built their reputations
00:16:38.780 and career
00:16:39.940 on the segregation
00:16:40.780 of race in this country.
00:16:43.120 And it was not only that,
00:16:45.980 but you also worked with them
00:16:48.220 to oppose busing.
00:16:50.560 And, you know,
00:16:51.840 there was a little girl
00:16:52.700 in California
00:16:53.660 who was part of the second class
00:16:56.120 to integrate her public schools.
00:16:58.320 And she was bused
00:16:59.580 to school every day.
00:17:01.460 And that little girl was me.
00:17:03.600 This confrontation
00:17:04.140 brought her significant attention
00:17:05.580 and a temporary boost
00:17:06.560 in the polls.
00:17:07.440 CNN headline,
00:17:08.380 Harris's attack
00:17:09.100 on Joe Biden steals spotlight
00:17:10.540 at Democratic primary debate.
00:17:11.940 Her campaign website
00:17:12.940 began selling merch
00:17:13.760 reading,
00:17:14.260 That little girl was me.
00:17:15.680 Pollsters suggested
00:17:16.440 that her support
00:17:17.040 had doubled
00:17:17.460 from 8% before the debate
00:17:18.960 nationally
00:17:19.380 to 17% afterward.
00:17:21.360 She raised $2 million
00:17:22.060 within 24 hours.
00:17:23.620 But this moment of glory
00:17:24.440 was short-lived.
00:17:25.860 Kamala's inability
00:17:26.520 to sustain the momentum
00:17:27.600 revealed a critical weakness.
00:17:29.680 Unpreparedness.
00:17:30.460 As with Justice Kavanaugh,
00:17:31.760 Kamala could launch an attack,
00:17:33.040 but she rarely backed it up.
00:17:34.260 She had no command
00:17:35.000 of details or evidence.
00:17:36.280 Her walk back began
00:17:37.040 almost immediately
00:17:37.740 with Joe Biden's comments
00:17:38.940 on national television
00:17:39.860 suggesting that her remarks
00:17:41.100 were baseless and scurrilous.
00:17:42.240 I thought we were friends
00:17:43.560 and I hope we still will be.
00:17:45.800 You know,
00:17:46.040 she asked me to go out
00:17:47.220 and call me
00:17:48.720 and asked me to go
00:17:49.620 to her convention
00:17:50.520 and be the guy
00:17:51.500 from outside of California
00:17:52.920 to nominate her
00:17:54.320 at her convention
00:17:55.400 for the Senate seat.
00:17:56.840 I did.
00:17:57.460 On MSNBC's Morning Joe,
00:17:58.820 Kamala softened
00:17:59.400 and walked back
00:17:59.960 her attack on Biden.
00:18:01.000 So he shouldn't have worked
00:18:02.040 with them
00:18:02.440 is what you're saying?
00:18:03.280 I'm saying,
00:18:03.840 no,
00:18:04.040 I'm saying that
00:18:05.360 the characterization
00:18:06.680 and the nostalgia
00:18:09.200 about who they were,
00:18:12.740 I find to be misplaced.
00:18:16.220 And it was hurtful to me
00:18:18.140 to hear that we would be
00:18:20.220 nostalgic about people
00:18:22.280 who if they had their way,
00:18:23.720 I would not serve
00:18:24.520 in the United States Senate.
00:18:25.600 Her position in Biden's
00:18:26.560 on busing
00:18:26.940 were substantially the same.
00:18:28.620 Kamala's policy positions
00:18:29.780 were another area of concern.
00:18:31.480 Her stance on health care
00:18:32.320 was emblematic
00:18:33.040 of her campaign's
00:18:33.940 broader issues.
00:18:34.760 Initially,
00:18:35.180 Kamala supported
00:18:35.800 Bernie Sanders'
00:18:36.640 Medicare for All plan,
00:18:37.720 which would eliminate
00:18:38.400 private insurance.
00:18:39.340 She even went on television
00:18:40.200 and said so.
00:18:41.020 I believe the solution
00:18:42.140 and I'm actually feel
00:18:43.600 very strongly about this
00:18:44.600 is that we need
00:18:45.240 to have Medicare for All.
00:18:46.660 But as criticism mounted,
00:18:47.820 particularly from centrist voters
00:18:49.100 and health care professionals,
00:18:50.360 she wavered.
00:18:51.180 The role of private insurance,
00:18:53.000 are you limiting that
00:18:54.020 to something like
00:18:55.300 cosmetic insurance
00:18:56.300 or what is the exact role
00:18:57.960 of private insurance?
00:18:59.020 To cover what is not
00:18:59.860 otherwise covered.
00:19:00.920 So that includes what?
00:19:02.000 Very little
00:19:03.000 because almost everything
00:19:04.120 will be covered.
00:19:05.100 Kamala tried to strike
00:19:05.900 a middle ground,
00:19:06.620 proposing a plan
00:19:07.180 that would maintain
00:19:07.740 private insurance options
00:19:08.720 while moving toward
00:19:09.560 universal coverage.
00:19:10.600 This flip-flop alienated
00:19:11.800 both progressives and moderates,
00:19:13.260 leaving her without
00:19:13.740 any solid base of support.
00:19:15.440 Her inconsistency
00:19:16.280 extended to other issues as well.
00:19:18.180 On criminal justice reform,
00:19:19.620 Kamala struggled
00:19:20.200 to reconcile her record
00:19:21.380 as a tough-on-crime prosecutor
00:19:22.780 with her new
00:19:23.540 progressive platform.
00:19:24.780 During a televised town hall,
00:19:26.160 Kamala was asked
00:19:26.780 about her stance
00:19:27.360 on the death penalty
00:19:28.060 for convicted cop killers.
00:19:29.620 Her response
00:19:30.080 was a convoluted attempt
00:19:31.260 to balance her past actions
00:19:32.440 with her current campaign platform,
00:19:34.340 resulting in a muddled message
00:19:35.840 that pleased no one.
00:19:37.020 My career has been based
00:19:38.340 on an understanding,
00:19:39.520 one,
00:19:40.020 that as a prosecutor,
00:19:41.420 my duty was to seek
00:19:43.000 and make sure
00:19:43.640 that the most vulnerable
00:19:44.520 and voiceless among us
00:19:45.540 are protected.
00:19:46.460 And that is why
00:19:47.360 I have personally prosecuted
00:19:48.940 violent crime
00:19:49.940 that includes rape,
00:19:51.360 child molestation,
00:19:52.300 and homicide.
00:19:52.940 and I have also worked
00:19:54.920 my entire career
00:19:55.820 to reform the criminal
00:19:56.800 justice system,
00:19:57.640 understanding to your point
00:19:58.920 that it is deeply flawed
00:20:00.500 and in need of repair.
00:20:01.660 Critics on the left
00:20:02.360 and the right
00:20:02.880 pointed to her past actions,
00:20:04.340 such as her defense
00:20:05.040 of the death penalty
00:20:05.640 and her handling
00:20:06.260 of truancy laws,
00:20:07.240 which disproportionately affected
00:20:08.520 low-income
00:20:09.080 and minority communities.
00:20:10.340 These contradictions
00:20:11.020 eroded her credibility
00:20:11.960 and trustworthiness.
00:20:13.120 People were beginning to see
00:20:14.100 through Kamala Harris' act.
00:20:15.740 The real problem, however,
00:20:16.660 was not Kamala's politics.
00:20:18.300 It was her personality.
00:20:19.520 Treated with kid gloves
00:20:20.300 for her entire career,
00:20:21.540 Kamala's sudden fame
00:20:22.400 exposed her,
00:20:23.220 sanded off all the varnish.
00:20:24.500 It became clearer
00:20:25.180 day after day
00:20:26.080 that she was simply
00:20:26.900 unlikable.
00:20:28.280 Kamala quickly became
00:20:29.100 the race's most
00:20:29.680 inauthentic politician.
00:20:31.140 Her most obvious foible
00:20:32.160 was an unfortunate
00:20:33.040 behavioral tick.
00:20:34.140 When asked a tough question,
00:20:35.380 she would break into
00:20:35.960 nearly uncontrollable laughter.
00:20:37.740 Whether during interviews
00:20:38.580 or debates,
00:20:39.380 Kamala's tendency to laugh
00:20:40.460 at inappropriate times
00:20:41.360 often came across
00:20:42.380 as dismissive,
00:20:43.320 out of touch,
00:20:44.080 just plain weird.
00:20:45.220 This behavior was not
00:20:46.020 just a minor quirk.
00:20:47.060 It became a symbol
00:20:47.780 of her inability to connect
00:20:49.040 with voters on a deeper level.
00:20:50.220 And that too.
00:20:54.580 I bet he's entitled
00:20:56.200 to his opinion.
00:20:57.820 Well, I think we've got
00:20:59.780 a couple of vicious
00:21:00.640 Chris with that.
00:21:01.900 I was the only one
00:21:02.940 in the room
00:21:03.460 who thought we were
00:21:04.060 still in the game.
00:21:06.640 All of these issues
00:21:07.440 broke out into the open
00:21:08.320 at the next Democratic
00:21:09.140 primary debate
00:21:09.840 on July 31st, 2019.
00:21:11.880 Joe Biden opened the debate
00:21:12.800 by approaching Kamala
00:21:13.620 for a handshake,
00:21:14.400 muttering,
00:21:14.640 go easy on me, kid.
00:21:15.920 Go easy on me, kid.
00:21:17.460 How you doing?
00:21:17.980 You good?
00:21:19.000 You good?
00:21:19.540 Jake Tapper of CNN
00:21:20.440 brought up the attack
00:21:21.460 from the last debate
00:21:22.180 and Kamala did exactly
00:21:23.500 what Joe Biden wanted.
00:21:24.620 She went easy on him.
00:21:25.580 Vice President Biden
00:21:26.840 was in the United States Senate
00:21:28.300 working with segregationists
00:21:30.140 to oppose busing,
00:21:32.260 which was the vehicle
00:21:33.240 by which we would integrate
00:21:34.800 America's public schools.
00:21:37.240 Had I been in the United States Senate
00:21:38.960 at that time,
00:21:39.720 I would have been completely
00:21:40.800 on the other side of the aisle.
00:21:42.360 And let's be clear about this.
00:21:43.840 Had those segregationists
00:21:45.400 their way,
00:21:46.400 I would not be a member
00:21:47.460 of the United States Senate.
00:21:48.700 Cory Booker would not be a member
00:21:50.000 of the United States Senate.
00:21:51.060 And Barack Obama
00:21:51.900 would not have been
00:21:52.600 in a position to nominate him
00:21:54.180 to the title he now holds.
00:21:56.300 But that wasn't the moment
00:21:57.460 that killed the Harris campaign.
00:21:58.800 That moment came at the hands
00:21:59.840 of former Hawaii
00:22:00.520 Representative Tulsi Gabbard,
00:22:02.000 running at Kamala
00:22:02.700 from both the left
00:22:03.540 and the center.
00:22:04.640 Gabbard delivered
00:22:05.220 a scathing critique
00:22:06.100 that many viewed
00:22:06.700 as a death blow
00:22:07.320 to Harris's candidacy.
00:22:08.840 Gabbard began
00:22:09.380 by accusing Kamala
00:22:10.320 of hypocrisy,
00:22:11.320 pointing out that
00:22:11.820 despite presenting herself
00:22:12.820 as a progressive reformer,
00:22:13.840 her record told
00:22:14.600 a different story.
00:22:15.640 She highlighted
00:22:16.120 that Kamala
00:22:16.620 had blocked evidence
00:22:17.340 that would have freed
00:22:17.840 an innocent man
00:22:18.520 from death row,
00:22:19.320 a charge that struck
00:22:20.100 at the heart of Kamala's
00:22:21.020 claims to fairness and justice.
00:22:22.120 I want to bring the conversation
00:22:23.240 back to the broken
00:22:24.420 criminal justice system
00:22:25.700 that is disproportionately
00:22:27.440 negatively impacting
00:22:29.080 black and brown people
00:22:30.120 all across this country today.
00:22:32.480 Senator Harris says
00:22:33.380 she's proud of her record
00:22:34.700 as a prosecutor
00:22:35.920 and that she'll be
00:22:36.560 a prosecutor president,
00:22:37.680 but I'm deeply concerned
00:22:38.600 about this record.
00:22:40.300 There are too many examples
00:22:41.380 to cite,
00:22:42.040 but she put over 1,500 people
00:22:43.960 in jail for marijuana violations
00:22:45.580 and then laughed about it
00:22:46.660 when she was asked
00:22:47.360 if she ever smoked marijuana.
00:22:48.540 She blocked evidence
00:22:50.860 that would have freed
00:22:54.520 an innocent man
00:22:55.580 from death row
00:22:56.620 until the courts
00:22:57.420 forced her to do so.
00:22:58.900 She kept people in prison
00:23:00.140 beyond their sentences
00:23:01.280 to use them
00:23:02.080 as cheap labor
00:23:02.960 for the state of California,
00:23:04.120 and she fought
00:23:05.320 to keep cash bail system
00:23:07.620 in place
00:23:08.320 that impacts poor people
00:23:10.060 in the worst kind of way.
00:23:11.840 Senator Harris,
00:23:12.440 when you were in a position
00:23:13.400 to make a difference
00:23:14.860 and an impact
00:23:15.620 in these people's lives,
00:23:17.320 you did not,
00:23:18.060 and worse yet,
00:23:18.800 in the case of those
00:23:19.800 who were on death row,
00:23:21.640 innocent people,
00:23:22.740 you actually blocked evidence
00:23:24.400 from being revealed
00:23:25.400 that would have freed them
00:23:26.720 until you were forced to do so.
00:23:28.640 There is no excuse for that,
00:23:30.280 and the people who suffered
00:23:31.460 under your reign as prosecutor,
00:23:33.340 you owe them an apology.
00:23:35.820 This was, of course,
00:23:36.500 the first time
00:23:37.080 she had ever publicly faced
00:23:38.440 serious pushback,
00:23:39.560 and she collapsed
00:23:40.320 in the face of Gabbard's
00:23:41.220 withering assault.
00:23:42.260 The media and public reaction
00:23:43.220 to the exchange
00:23:43.740 was swift and harsh.
00:23:45.060 Many declared Gabbard
00:23:45.800 the clear winner
00:23:46.340 of that debate segment
00:23:47.200 and declared Harris on the ropes.
00:23:49.240 Kamala attempted to deflect
00:23:50.260 by attacking Gabbard's own record
00:23:51.540 and questioning her
00:23:52.380 standing in the race.
00:23:53.260 These responses fell flat.
00:23:54.540 They failed to address
00:23:55.240 the substantive criticisms
00:23:56.220 that had been laid out.
00:23:57.020 I think that it's unfortunate
00:24:00.160 that we have someone
00:24:01.120 on this stage
00:24:01.860 who is attempting
00:24:03.060 to be the Democratic nominee
00:24:04.500 for President of the United States,
00:24:06.100 who during the Obama administration
00:24:07.800 spent four years full-time
00:24:09.940 on Fox News
00:24:10.760 criticizing President Obama,
00:24:12.680 who has spent full-time
00:24:14.180 criticizing people on this stage
00:24:18.880 as affiliated
00:24:20.320 with the Democratic Party.
00:24:21.920 The confrontation
00:24:22.760 significantly damaged
00:24:23.900 Kamala's campaign.
00:24:25.000 Her poll numbers
00:24:25.460 dropped precipitously,
00:24:26.340 and the criticism
00:24:27.220 from Gabbard
00:24:27.820 stuck with voters,
00:24:28.940 casting serious doubt
00:24:29.860 on Kamala's authenticity
00:24:31.100 and trustworthiness.
00:24:32.420 Gabbard's attack
00:24:32.920 was not just a momentary setback,
00:24:34.300 but a turning point
00:24:34.980 from which Kamala's campaign
00:24:36.120 never recovered.
00:24:37.180 It highlighted
00:24:37.640 the vulnerabilities
00:24:38.280 and contradictions
00:24:39.260 in Kamala's record,
00:24:40.380 and her inability
00:24:41.040 to effectively counter
00:24:42.100 those criticisms
00:24:42.760 in real time
00:24:43.680 underscored the lack
00:24:44.840 of preparedness
00:24:45.360 and strategic depth
00:24:46.400 within her campaign.
00:24:47.540 Meanwhile,
00:24:48.080 Kamala's gaps
00:24:48.600 became more
00:24:49.420 and more unwatchable.
00:24:53.960 This is a conversation
00:24:55.300 I have heard
00:24:56.060 in every campaign
00:24:57.740 I have,
00:24:58.740 and now here is
00:24:59.240 the operative word,
00:25:00.640 won.
00:25:03.660 And y'all are looking at me,
00:25:04.980 okay, Kamala,
00:25:05.560 why do you say this?
00:25:06.380 Why do you think
00:25:06.940 we have so much more
00:25:07.800 in common
00:25:08.140 than what separates us?
00:25:09.140 Well, I'll tell you.
00:25:10.760 I know it based on
00:25:11.900 every personal
00:25:12.720 and professional experience
00:25:13.980 I've had,
00:25:15.120 and I know it based on
00:25:16.620 what I call
00:25:17.160 the three-in-the-morning thought.
00:25:19.080 Okay, y'all are looking at me,
00:25:20.040 where are you going with this?
00:25:21.120 Okay.
00:25:21.720 Her inauthenticity
00:25:22.580 was like an onion.
00:25:23.600 Peel one layer,
00:25:24.360 find another layer
00:25:25.000 of inauthenticity beneath.
00:25:26.280 Her most virally
00:25:26.920 inauthentic moment
00:25:27.640 came when her campaign
00:25:28.800 got a bus.
00:25:29.280 Senator Harris
00:25:30.120 is kicking off
00:25:30.840 a five-day bus tour.
00:25:32.340 Look at my bus!
00:25:34.140 Oh my God,
00:25:35.040 I love it!
00:25:36.020 The mockery was immense
00:25:36.960 and well-deserved.
00:25:38.320 In response,
00:25:39.160 Kamala attended
00:25:39.680 big-dollar fundraisers,
00:25:41.040 avoided the campaign trail,
00:25:42.240 avoided the press.
00:25:43.260 That was,
00:25:43.680 of course,
00:25:43.960 where she was most comfortable
00:25:44.900 with the money people
00:25:45.740 in the Democratic Party.
00:25:47.300 Kamala for the people,
00:25:48.460 indeed.
00:25:49.260 As the campaign progressed,
00:25:50.620 Kamala's support steadily
00:25:51.540 continued to decline.
00:25:53.060 By the fall of 2019,
00:25:54.400 her poll numbers had cratered.
00:25:55.600 Her fundraising efforts
00:25:56.380 were faltering.
00:25:57.280 Despite her attempts
00:25:57.920 to shift her campaign's focus
00:25:58.980 to Iowa,
00:25:59.620 she wasn't picking up ground
00:26:00.680 even there.
00:26:01.640 Internal campaign memos
00:26:02.640 revealed a chaotic organization
00:26:04.380 with staff turnover
00:26:05.480 and a lack of cohesive strategy
00:26:06.940 contributing
00:26:07.400 to the campaign's unraveling.
00:26:09.060 Politico reported
00:26:09.840 in October 2019
00:26:10.820 that Harris was,
00:26:12.240 hemorrhaging cash
00:26:13.060 and in danger
00:26:13.700 of lacking the resources
00:26:14.740 to mount a competitive bid
00:26:15.880 against better-funded
00:26:16.800 rivals in Iowa.
00:26:18.000 Kamala attempted
00:26:18.580 to reshuffle the cards
00:26:19.580 in order to rescue
00:26:20.580 a campaign
00:26:21.160 that was still being viewed
00:26:22.220 as a likely early-stage juggernaut
00:26:23.920 just three months ago.
00:26:25.140 On November 29th,
00:26:26.240 the New York Times
00:26:26.800 ran an expose
00:26:27.620 on Kamala's campaign.
00:26:28.940 It was effectively
00:26:29.540 a campaign obituary.
00:26:30.900 Noting that she was
00:26:31.480 the only 2020 Democrat
00:26:32.760 who has fallen hard
00:26:33.760 out of the top tier
00:26:34.580 of candidates,
00:26:35.460 the Times called her
00:26:36.120 an uneven campaigner
00:26:37.440 who changes her message
00:26:38.480 and tactics to little effect
00:26:39.600 and has a staff
00:26:40.460 torn into factions.
00:26:41.680 The Times reported
00:26:42.340 a resignation letter
00:26:43.180 from Kelly Mellenbacher,
00:26:44.620 the state operations director.
00:26:46.060 In it,
00:26:46.580 Mellenbacher excoriated
00:26:47.780 the campaign,
00:26:48.340 quote,
00:26:48.720 this is my third
00:26:49.360 presidential campaign
00:26:50.220 and I have never seen
00:26:51.240 an organization
00:26:51.860 treat its staff so poorly.
00:26:53.520 Mellenbacher saved
00:26:54.120 particular ire for Maya Harris,
00:26:55.760 Kamala's sister,
00:26:56.580 the campaign chairwoman.
00:26:58.020 The Times reported
00:26:58.740 that her, quote,
00:26:59.460 decline is more predictable
00:27:00.500 than surprising.
00:27:01.520 The organizational unsteadiness
00:27:02.760 of Ms. Harris' campaign
00:27:03.760 reflects a long-time
00:27:04.960 personal trait
00:27:05.600 according to allies.
00:27:06.780 She is a candidate
00:27:07.380 who seeks input
00:27:08.180 from a stable of advisors,
00:27:09.580 but her personal
00:27:10.120 political convictions
00:27:10.980 can be unclear.
00:27:12.220 That was a very nice way
00:27:13.240 of saying the obvious.
00:27:14.280 Kamala Harris
00:27:14.800 had no principles.
00:27:16.460 By December,
00:27:16.940 facing dwindling resources
00:27:18.280 and an insurmountable
00:27:19.240 gap in the polls,
00:27:20.360 Kamala made the decision
00:27:21.220 to suspend her campaign.
00:27:22.600 In her withdrawal statement,
00:27:23.660 Kamala cited
00:27:24.120 financial difficulties
00:27:25.080 and the need to focus
00:27:26.120 on uniting the Democratic Party.
00:27:27.680 So here's the deal, guys.
00:27:29.400 My campaign for president
00:27:30.840 simply does not have
00:27:32.160 the financial resources
00:27:33.540 to continue
00:27:34.580 and the financial resources
00:27:36.100 we need to continue.
00:27:37.980 I'm not a billionaire.
00:27:39.500 I can't fund my own campaign.
00:27:41.320 And as the campaign
00:27:42.080 has gone on,
00:27:42.920 it has become harder
00:27:43.980 and harder
00:27:44.500 to raise the money
00:27:45.480 we need to compete.
00:27:47.660 In good faith,
00:27:48.640 I cannot tell you,
00:27:50.020 my supporters and volunteers,
00:27:52.020 that I have a path forward
00:27:53.600 if I don't believe I do.
00:27:56.640 So to you,
00:27:57.900 my supporters,
00:27:59.160 my dear supporters,
00:28:00.440 it is with deep regret,
00:28:01.940 but also with deep gratitude,
00:28:04.140 that I am suspending
00:28:05.080 our campaign today.
00:28:07.140 But I want to be clear with you.
00:28:08.860 I am still very much
00:28:10.980 in this fight
00:28:11.920 and I will keep fighting
00:28:13.740 every day
00:28:14.820 for what this campaign
00:28:16.440 has been about.
00:28:17.940 Justice for the people.
00:28:20.820 All the people.
00:28:22.060 However,
00:28:22.660 the reality was clear.
00:28:23.900 She had poisoned herself
00:28:24.780 with the voters
00:28:25.200 and her campaign
00:28:26.280 had been a full-scale
00:28:27.300 disaster area.
00:28:28.400 Mr. Vice President,
00:28:29.440 I'm speaking.
00:28:30.060 I have to weigh in.
00:28:30.400 I'm speaking.
00:28:31.280 Let's talk about the fact.
00:28:32.740 Yeah, I'm about to.
00:28:34.480 Wait.
00:28:35.160 I'm speaking.
00:28:36.040 It would be important
00:28:36.500 if you said the truth.
00:28:37.460 If you don't mind
00:28:39.080 letting me finish.
00:28:40.120 For the next few months,
00:28:41.000 Kamala struggled.
00:28:41.960 She remained critical
00:28:42.600 of Joe Biden.
00:28:43.600 In March 2020,
00:28:44.600 when Tara Reid came forward
00:28:45.620 and accused Biden
00:28:46.320 of sexual assault,
00:28:47.460 Kamala backed Reid's case.
00:28:49.060 But in reality,
00:28:50.120 Biden was in good
00:28:50.860 electoral shape.
00:28:51.900 Kamala was out
00:28:52.640 in the wilderness.
00:28:53.500 But it still wasn't
00:28:54.840 over for her.
00:28:55.860 Kamala Harris may have had
00:28:56.740 one of the most
00:28:57.120 spectacular collapses
00:28:58.200 of any presidential candidate
00:28:59.440 in modern history,
00:29:00.300 but she still had
00:29:01.080 one thing going for her.
00:29:02.460 She was a black woman.
00:29:03.960 And that advantage
00:29:04.600 made itself apparent
00:29:05.340 with the death
00:29:05.960 of George Floyd.
00:29:07.140 Kamala was an awkward
00:29:07.940 candidate to play
00:29:08.680 racial conflagrationist.
00:29:10.220 She was a former prosecutor
00:29:11.160 married to a white man
00:29:12.100 without any serious record
00:29:13.340 in left-wing race baiting.
00:29:14.600 But the Democratic Party
00:29:15.400 under nominee Joe Biden,
00:29:16.640 an old white man,
00:29:17.660 was desperate.
00:29:18.800 And there was Kamala
00:29:19.560 waiting.
00:29:20.660 Floyd's death ignited
00:29:21.500 widespread rioting
00:29:22.380 and cries from the left
00:29:23.320 to defund the police.
00:29:24.440 That same month,
00:29:25.560 Kamala Harris sought
00:29:26.180 to reposition herself yet again,
00:29:27.720 this time as a racial
00:29:28.740 justice warrior.
00:29:29.940 On June 1st,
00:29:30.660 as riots burned,
00:29:31.800 Kamala tweeted out a call
00:29:32.800 to chip in
00:29:33.360 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund
00:29:34.660 to quote,
00:29:35.220 post-fail for those
00:29:36.020 protesting on the ground
00:29:36.980 in Minnesota.
00:29:37.840 Those weren't protesters,
00:29:38.840 they were rioters.
00:29:39.720 And now Kamala,
00:29:40.540 the former top cop,
00:29:41.880 was supporting them.
00:29:43.020 Meanwhile,
00:29:43.480 as Joe Biden finished up
00:29:44.360 his victorious primary campaign,
00:29:45.980 he needed to please
00:29:46.700 his black voting base,
00:29:47.760 the people who had elevated him
00:29:48.860 to the nomination
00:29:49.480 over Bernie Sanders.
00:29:50.500 He couldn't do so himself.
00:29:51.780 He had been one of the architects
00:29:52.840 of the 1994 criminal justice scheme
00:29:54.760 that ended with
00:29:55.280 large-scale incarceration
00:29:56.480 disproportionately
00:29:57.340 among black men.
00:29:58.460 And so he had to pander.
00:30:00.020 Within weeks of Floyd's death,
00:30:01.300 the so-called racial justice movement
00:30:02.720 in his name
00:30:03.260 began calling for Biden
00:30:04.280 to pick a black woman
00:30:05.140 for his running mate.
00:30:06.120 That push had actually begun
00:30:07.040 in April,
00:30:07.560 when some 200 black female leaders
00:30:09.160 and activists
00:30:09.680 within the Democratic Party
00:30:10.740 signed an open letter
00:30:11.760 demanding a black female VP pick
00:30:13.520 from Biden.
00:30:14.380 They held a call
00:30:14.860 with Biden in May.
00:30:15.820 And in June,
00:30:16.500 Biden announced
00:30:17.000 that he would be seeking
00:30:17.900 just that,
00:30:18.600 a black woman.
00:30:19.540 On July 20th,
00:30:20.440 Biden said he had
00:30:21.240 four black women
00:30:21.980 on his vice presidential shortlist.
00:30:23.900 Among them,
00:30:24.480 there are four black women.
00:30:25.980 So that decision
00:30:27.120 is underway right now.
00:30:28.680 One of those women
00:30:29.300 was Kamala Harris.
00:30:30.880 She was the most qualified.
00:30:32.080 The other two were House members
00:30:33.420 and a national security advisor.
00:30:35.220 And only one of the possibilities
00:30:36.320 had the support
00:30:37.020 of the ex-president
00:30:37.860 and sole reason
00:30:38.680 for Joe Biden's political success
00:30:40.180 at the age of 77,
00:30:42.040 Barack Obama.
00:30:43.300 Behind the scenes,
00:30:44.200 Obama played a pivotal role
00:30:45.220 in Kamala's selection.
00:30:46.480 He recommended
00:30:46.940 her selection to Biden.
00:30:48.080 His endorsement was crucial
00:30:49.120 as it helped
00:30:49.720 to alleviate concerns
00:30:50.800 within the party
00:30:51.460 about Kamala's
00:30:52.180 controversial record
00:30:52.960 and bolster her candidacy
00:30:54.340 with his considerable
00:30:55.280 political capital.
00:30:56.960 Obama's support
00:30:57.520 also helped
00:30:58.080 to overcome opposition
00:30:58.920 from Jill Biden,
00:31:00.300 who,
00:31:00.660 according to all reports,
00:31:01.500 disliked Kamala strongly
00:31:02.940 since her scurrilous
00:31:03.860 attacks on Joe.
00:31:05.120 Now the woman Obama
00:31:05.920 had once called
00:31:06.480 the hottest attorney general
00:31:07.420 in the nation
00:31:07.900 was about to be placed
00:31:08.940 one heartbeat
00:31:09.720 from Obama's old job.
00:31:11.600 On August 11, 2020,
00:31:13.040 Joe Biden announced
00:31:13.680 that Kamala Harris
00:31:14.360 would be his
00:31:14.840 vice presidential running mate.
00:31:16.640 I have the great honor
00:31:17.220 to announce
00:31:17.600 that I've picked Kamala Harris,
00:31:18.780 a fearless fighter
00:31:19.440 for the little guy,
00:31:20.360 one of the country's
00:31:20.940 finest public servants,
00:31:21.920 as my running mate,
00:31:22.680 Biden tweeted.
00:31:23.720 For her part,
00:31:24.440 Kamala was now ready
00:31:25.280 to bend the knee,
00:31:26.080 saying Biden,
00:31:26.640 quote,
00:31:26.800 can unify the American people
00:31:28.040 because he's spent his life
00:31:29.060 fighting for us.
00:31:29.740 And as president,
00:31:30.700 he'll build an America
00:31:31.420 that lives up to our ideals.
00:31:32.980 I'm honored to join him
00:31:33.860 as our party's nominee
00:31:34.660 for vice president
00:31:35.340 and do what it takes
00:31:36.300 to make him
00:31:36.740 our commander in chief.
00:31:38.100 I have no doubt
00:31:38.980 that I picked
00:31:40.460 the right person
00:31:41.160 to join me
00:31:41.880 as the next vice president
00:31:43.500 of the United States
00:31:44.200 of America,
00:31:44.940 and that's Senator
00:31:45.600 Kamala Harris.
00:31:46.900 Is the answer yes?
00:31:48.240 The answer is
00:31:48.960 absolutely yes, Joe,
00:31:50.560 and I am ready to work.
00:31:52.200 I am ready to do this
00:31:53.360 with you,
00:31:54.100 for you.
00:31:54.780 I am just deeply honored.
00:31:58.580 Kamala's chemistry
00:31:59.220 with Biden was weak.
00:32:00.900 They didn't know
00:32:01.420 how to interact
00:32:01.980 with one another.
00:32:03.040 Biden wanted her
00:32:03.660 to be seen,
00:32:04.220 but not heard.
00:32:05.060 He wanted to show her off
00:32:06.320 as the intersectional future
00:32:07.460 without having
00:32:08.120 to take her input.
00:32:09.100 All of that was made apparent
00:32:09.940 during a joint introductory
00:32:11.060 interview on August 23rd,
00:32:12.760 where the two seemed ill at ease.
00:32:14.360 Well, thank you both
00:32:15.140 for sitting down with us.
00:32:16.340 Thanks for having us.
00:32:17.240 Thank you.
00:32:18.060 The process wouldn't
00:32:18.800 become any easier.
00:32:20.140 Kamala was,
00:32:20.840 as always,
00:32:21.200 an awkward campaigner
00:32:22.040 with no expertise
00:32:22.840 on any relevant issue.
00:32:23.780 Her gaffes once again
00:32:24.920 began to pile up.
00:32:26.040 For us at every moment in time,
00:32:28.100 and certainly this one,
00:32:29.940 to see the moment in time.
00:32:33.180 Which is why we will work together
00:32:34.760 and continue to work together
00:32:36.300 to address these issues,
00:32:38.720 to tackle these challenges,
00:32:40.620 and to work together
00:32:42.080 as we continue to work
00:32:43.820 operating from the new norms,
00:32:47.160 rules, and agreements
00:32:48.180 that we will convene
00:32:50.400 to work together on.
00:32:52.440 the significance
00:32:53.300 of the passage of time.
00:32:55.440 So when you think about it,
00:32:56.940 there is great significance
00:32:58.100 to the passage of time
00:32:59.560 in terms of what we need to do.
00:33:01.480 There's this whole conversation
00:33:02.640 that's been coming up
00:33:03.460 about electability.
00:33:06.980 Focused on our campaign.
00:33:08.580 Is America ready for that?
00:33:10.760 No!
00:33:11.980 Well, yes, they are.
00:33:13.340 Space is exciting.
00:33:14.540 It spurs our imaginations.
00:33:19.100 And it forces us
00:33:20.920 to ask big questions.
00:33:24.080 Kamala's vice presidential campaign
00:33:25.380 was intended to be a showcase
00:33:26.640 of her abilities,
00:33:27.620 a testament to her historic candidacy.
00:33:29.920 Instead,
00:33:30.460 it became a glaring exposition
00:33:31.780 on her political inadequacies
00:33:33.420 and public relations missteps.
00:33:35.320 The vice presidential debate,
00:33:36.600 juxtaposing Kamala
00:33:37.480 with Vice President Mike Pence,
00:33:38.800 was supposed to be
00:33:39.420 a shining moment for Kamala.
00:33:40.880 Her strategy was simple.
00:33:42.360 Play the victim.
00:33:42.880 From the outset,
00:33:44.160 she attempted to recreate
00:33:45.200 some of her greatest hits
00:33:46.140 from the Senate.
00:33:46.740 In particular,
00:33:47.540 her early PR success,
00:33:48.720 claiming that she'd been victimized
00:33:50.140 by men who interrupted her.
00:33:51.600 Only this time,
00:33:52.380 she would not be interrupted.
00:33:53.920 Mr. Vice President,
00:33:54.700 I'm speaking.
00:33:56.080 Well, wait.
00:33:56.880 I'm speaking.
00:33:57.780 It'd be important
00:33:58.220 if you said the truth.
00:34:00.620 Joe Biden said twice
00:34:01.900 in the debate last week
00:34:02.940 that he's going to repeal
00:34:03.800 the Trump tax cuts.
00:34:05.480 That was tax cuts
00:34:06.700 that gave the average
00:34:07.560 working family
00:34:08.420 $2,000
00:34:09.840 in a tax break
00:34:11.300 every single year.
00:34:12.420 That is absolutely
00:34:14.080 not true.
00:34:15.580 Is he only going to repeal
00:34:17.640 part of the Trump tax cuts?
00:34:19.280 If you don't mind
00:34:19.920 letting me finish,
00:34:21.320 we can then have a conversation.
00:34:22.920 Okay?
00:34:23.300 Please.
00:34:23.740 Okay.
00:34:24.440 Well, let's get back.
00:34:25.260 No, but Susan,
00:34:25.960 this is important.
00:34:27.000 And I want to add,
00:34:27.980 Mr. Vice President,
00:34:28.720 I'm speaking.
00:34:29.360 I have to weigh in.
00:34:30.520 But, like everything else
00:34:31.540 with Kamala,
00:34:32.100 the whole routine
00:34:32.760 was forced and phony.
00:34:34.200 Pence,
00:34:34.560 an unfailingly polite candidate,
00:34:36.020 never attempted
00:34:36.520 to bully Kamala,
00:34:37.480 instead leaving her
00:34:38.160 in the bizarre position
00:34:38.960 of playing the wronged victim
00:34:40.180 in the absence
00:34:41.120 of any victimization.
00:34:42.620 Despite Kamala's attempts
00:34:43.520 to sell a new set of merch
00:34:44.640 on the back
00:34:45.040 of her debate performance,
00:34:46.200 I'm speaking,
00:34:47.400 the attack fell flat.
00:34:49.140 It was the beginning
00:34:49.620 of a long night for Kamala,
00:34:50.760 who once again fell short
00:34:51.820 in command of the issues
00:34:52.720 and couldn't defend
00:34:53.440 her own record.
00:34:54.340 When questioned
00:34:54.800 about her previous support
00:34:55.880 for the Green New Deal,
00:34:57.100 Kamala attempted
00:34:57.640 to distance herself
00:34:58.500 from the controversial
00:34:59.260 elements of the proposal,
00:35:00.640 despite having
00:35:01.100 co-sponsored it
00:35:01.720 in the Senate.
00:35:02.060 And the American people
00:35:03.540 know that Joe Biden
00:35:05.660 will not ban fracking.
00:35:07.600 That is a fact.
00:35:09.440 That is a fact.
00:35:11.340 I will repeat
00:35:13.060 that Joe Biden
00:35:14.840 has been very clear
00:35:16.180 that he thinks
00:35:17.660 about growing jobs,
00:35:19.460 which is why
00:35:19.880 he will not increase taxes
00:35:21.380 for anyone who makes
00:35:22.320 less than $400,000 a year.
00:35:25.160 Joe Biden's economic plan,
00:35:27.720 Moody's,
00:35:28.540 which is a reputable
00:35:29.460 Wall Street firm,
00:35:30.560 has said we'll create
00:35:31.940 7 million more jobs
00:35:33.520 than Donald Trump's.
00:35:35.720 And part of those jobs
00:35:37.300 that will be created
00:35:38.040 by Joe Biden
00:35:38.880 are going to be
00:35:40.060 about clean energy
00:35:41.420 and renewable energy.
00:35:42.960 This flip-flopping
00:35:43.840 only served again
00:35:45.100 to reinforce the perception
00:35:46.460 that Kamala lacked
00:35:47.380 a firm stance
00:35:48.140 on critical policies.
00:35:49.620 Additionally,
00:35:50.100 her failure to adequately
00:35:51.020 address Pence's pushback
00:35:52.120 on the administration's
00:35:52.980 handling of COVID-19
00:35:54.100 and the economy
00:35:55.040 lapsed into incoherence.
00:35:57.000 The debate also exposed
00:35:57.960 Kamala's difficulties
00:35:58.840 in articulating
00:35:59.580 a clear, compelling
00:36:00.400 vision for the future.
00:36:01.720 While Pence methodically
00:36:02.660 laid out the Trump
00:36:03.320 administration's
00:36:03.980 accomplishments and plans,
00:36:05.260 Kamala often relied
00:36:06.100 on broad statements
00:36:06.820 and emotional appeals
00:36:07.760 lacking specificity.
00:36:09.780 In the end,
00:36:10.320 Kamala's performance
00:36:10.940 was saved,
00:36:11.660 not by her,
00:36:12.560 but by a rogue fly
00:36:13.420 that landed on
00:36:14.060 Mike Pence's head.
00:36:15.380 On such minor things,
00:36:16.580 campaigns turn.
00:36:17.560 To the men and women
00:36:18.440 who serve in law enforcement,
00:36:19.800 and I want everyone
00:36:20.580 to know who puts on
00:36:21.620 the uniform of law
00:36:22.560 enforcement every day,
00:36:24.080 that President Trump
00:36:24.880 and I stand with you.
00:36:26.940 While Biden maintained
00:36:27.740 his lead over
00:36:28.260 President Trump in the polls,
00:36:29.200 problems continued
00:36:30.120 to swirl around Kamala.
00:36:31.780 Allegations resurfaced
00:36:32.760 regarding her handling
00:36:33.700 of sexual harassment
00:36:34.560 complaints while serving
00:36:35.640 as California's
00:36:36.360 Attorney General.
00:36:37.560 Under Kamala's tenure,
00:36:38.660 the California
00:36:39.100 Department of Justice
00:36:39.920 had paid out
00:36:40.580 $1.1 million
00:36:41.600 in settlements
00:36:42.360 related to sexual
00:36:43.160 harassment claims.
00:36:44.460 That included
00:36:45.100 a notable case
00:36:45.800 involving one
00:36:46.280 of her top aides,
00:36:47.240 Larry Wallace,
00:36:48.020 who resigned
00:36:48.480 after a $400,000
00:36:49.700 settlement was made
00:36:50.560 following accusations
00:36:51.640 of harassment.
00:36:53.340 Kamala's response
00:36:54.080 to these incidents
00:36:54.720 were inadequate
00:36:55.360 and evasive.
00:36:56.320 Once again,
00:36:56.840 her dishonesty
00:36:57.380 was on full display.
00:36:59.020 Kamala's team claimed
00:36:59.840 they were unaware
00:37:00.380 of the issues
00:37:00.920 until they were
00:37:01.440 made public,
00:37:02.200 a statement met
00:37:02.900 with widespread skepticism.
00:37:04.900 Kamala,
00:37:05.300 who had attempted
00:37:05.680 to build her career
00:37:06.500 on advocating
00:37:07.100 for victims
00:37:07.620 and promoting accountability,
00:37:08.940 had yet again
00:37:09.440 failed to implement
00:37:10.060 these values
00:37:10.620 within her very own office.
00:37:12.360 In the end, though,
00:37:13.160 Kamala was indeed
00:37:13.840 elected vice president,
00:37:14.840 riding Biden's coattails
00:37:15.740 to the second highest office
00:37:16.800 in the land.
00:37:17.900 Even her announcement
00:37:18.500 of her victory online
00:37:19.380 was awkward
00:37:20.080 and off-putting.
00:37:21.040 We did it.
00:37:22.040 We did it, Joe.
00:37:24.040 For his part,
00:37:24.680 Biden touted her
00:37:25.340 as his potential successor,
00:37:26.740 telling interviews
00:37:27.340 that if he disagreed
00:37:28.180 with Kamala,
00:37:28.900 perhaps he would step down.
00:37:30.260 A fundamental disagreement
00:37:31.740 we have based on
00:37:32.940 a moral principle,
00:37:34.560 I'll develop some disease
00:37:37.740 and say I have to resign.
00:37:39.540 But Kamala's lackluster showing
00:37:40.760 as a failed presidential candidate
00:37:42.040 and then again
00:37:42.680 as vice president
00:37:43.460 put her on thin ice.
00:37:45.220 She'd soon break that ice.
00:37:46.980 We'll see you next time.
00:37:47.600 We'll see you next time.
00:37:48.600 We'll see you next time.
00:37:55.340 We'll see you next time.