One of the biggest challenges facing the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris In the final phase of the campaign, she presents herself to voters before her Republican rival, Donald Trumpshe has a chance to define herself.
Until her surprise election to the Democratic ticket this summer, Harris was still a relatively unknown figure in national politics, in part because of her aversion to openness and the spotlight. Since becoming a candidate, Republicans have criticized Harris for not giving many interviews or providing enough details about her political plans.
But the vice president shares personal details about her childhood, cooking and food to show her more private side.
Harris is known to be a foodie and loves to cook. In fact, she had just made a breakfast of pancakes and bacon for her two nieces, ages 6 and 8, on a July morning when Biden called to tell her he was dropping out of the race.
From talking about nacho cheese Doritos as her favorite snack to washing green vegetables in the bathtub, Harris aims to connect with voters on a more personal level. While knowing that she loves to eat tortilla chips at snack time may not be enough on its own to convince anyone to vote for her, the small — and sometimes funny — details can help Harris show that she can connect with people and their concerns.
“She is trying to show that she is a whole person beyond just her policy proposals,” Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, said in an email.
Caramel is my favorite.
While stopping at Doty’s Market in Savannah during a bus tour of southeast Georgia last week, Harris became excited about what she saw on the counter.
“What is this cake?” she said. “Chocolate caramel,” one of the employees replied.
“I want a piece of this,” Harris said. “Caramel is my favorite.” She added, looking as if she was absorbing the description, “Oh, chocolate and caramel?” The cake was covered in white frosting with caramel on top and drips down the sides.
“Great,” Harris said.
beautiful music
“I was in the band when I was your age,” she said while visiting band practice at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, and giving a motivational talk about leadership.
“Everything you all do takes a lot of practice, a lot of practice, a lot of hours. Right?” she said. “Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t. Right? But all that practice makes beautiful music.”
Harris did not say what instrument she plays. An aide later told a reporter that Harris plays the French horn, xylophone and drums; the vice president has admitted that she “can’t play one instrument.”
Green turnips in the tub
Harris shared her green vegetable recipe — and unusual method for preparing it — with Mashama Bailey, chef at The Grey restaurant in downtown Savannah. A friend of hers used to ask Harris to make green vegetables for her annual Christmas party.
“I’m not lying when I say I’m going to make so many vegetables that I’ll have to wash them in the bathtub,” the vice president told Billy. “I’m telling you the truth.”
Harris starts by draining the bacon fat before adding minced garlic, chili peppers, lots of water and some chicken broth. “I let it sit for a while before I put in the vegetables,” she says. After a few hours, she finishes with vinegar and Tabasco sauce.
golden arches
According to McDonald’s, one in eight Americans has worked in one of its fast-food restaurants at some point in their lives. Harris is among them.
“I worked a summer job at McDonald’s,” she said at an August campaign rally in Las Vegas, trying to demonstrate her understanding of middle-class struggles.
In a policy speech in North Carolina to discuss her proposal to ban price increases, also last month, Harris said she was in college when she “worked at McDonald’s to make spending money.”
Her duties “We were making French fries and working the cash register,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this year.
Harris and her sister Maya were raised by a single mother named Shyamala, an immigrant from India. Harris says she was 13 when her mother bought her first house after saving money for a decade.
Doritos as a snack
At snack time, Harris eats Doritos chips.
“This is my go-to, the original cheese, nachos,” Harris said, holding a red bag of Doritos when she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their spouses stopped at a Sheetz grocery store in Moon Township during their campaign bus tour of southwestern Pennsylvania in August.
Her favorite soft drink?
“I like root beer. He likes Coke Zero,” she said of her husband, Doug Emhoff.
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