Hand it to Vice President Kamala Harris: After President Joe Biden unceremoniously ended his quest for a second term, within just a couple of days, Harris not only reinvented herself, but also shut down any potential challengers for the nomination. Poor Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). He saw the writing on the wall about Biden’s second term a year in advance and played the loyal soldier while campaigning with a nod and wink to replace him, but Harris managed to shunt him unceremoniously aside.
Politicos observe that no candidate has had the Hollywood base that Harris has, but Democrats who applaud her ability to tap that gravy train fail to understand that such close association with Hollywood is no longer a positive with average people. The culture and values of Hollywood are simply too foreign.
The legacy media has also fallen in lockstep to whitewash Harris’s record, from her failures as Biden’s point person on the border to her legendary unlikability that causes staff to flee and makes former Secretary of State John Kerry appear humble and personable by comparison. She went from “word salad Kamala” to master orator in the space of three days.
Every politician gets a honeymoon, and Harris can have hers. But ultimately she will have to begin answering questions. She will eventually have to face the elephant in the room: When did she become aware of Biden’s dementia? Did she prize political convenience over the well-being of the nation?
Certainly, on foreign policy, Harris is a black box. She has probably been the most ineffective vice president since Dan Quayle. Biden threw her some crumbs but seldom let her near foreign policy. He considered diplomacy and statecraft his bailiwick alone, and his record notwithstanding, Biden famously considers himself the smartest person in Washington on issues of foreign relations.
Harris’s views on Israel appear shaped more by political efficacy than moral clarity. When she is before Jewish audiences, she sings Israel’s praises. When she is in Michigan or Minnesota, she laments the situation in which Gazans find themselves without considering why. Meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she said the war must end, but she does not explain the costs of doing so if that means Hamas rises from the ashes or Iran triumphs.
On Russia and Ukraine, her instincts are also unclear. Biden’s willingness to support Ukraine against Russia stands in contrast to former President Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), but with Ukraine mired in stalemate, Harris has not said how she would change policy to help Ukraine win or if, like with Israel, she would simply demand ceasefire even if it meant far greater war down the road.
Harris likewise gives little insight into how she would approach China. Beijing has undertaken an unprecedented military buildup and threatens the United States in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. Beijing will cut Harris no slack; as she parties with Hollywood, China is actively encroaching on the Philippines.
Harris will likewise need to address Cuba. Forget the usual sanctions pandering; that is a nonstarter since Cuba sanctions are written into law. As even former President Barack Obama came to realize, it will take congressional action to end them, not presidential fiat.
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Rather, the problem Harris will face is Cuba’s collapse. A triumvirate of nonagenarians dominates Havana, with no clear succession plan. The country has lost more than 5% of its population over the last year alone, with migrants flying visa-free to Nicaragua and then hopping on chartered buses to the U.S. southern border. When the communist regime ends, will Harris stand by while China takes over or Cuba descends into Haiti-style gang violence?
Harris is the teleprompter queen, but someone must write her script. The longer she goes without one, the more America’s enemies salivate. Make no mistake: Harris may believe the enemy is domestic and politics is war, but that is a conceit applicable only when America is safe and its enemies deterred. Neither is true anymore. It is time for Harris to provide real answers about where she stands and what strategies she will embrace.
Michael Rubin is director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.