When Kamala Harris presided over Congress’ certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6 and declared Donald J. Trump the winner of the 2024 election, she adopted the stance of the righteous stateswoman and stoically restored the norms her opponent ever tried to destroy.
That’s how many in the mainstream media have framed it anyway. Countless left-wing expressions fell over themselves praising her generosity of spirit after such a hard-fought and obviously dirty race.
Harris could even be forgiven for giving in to the temptation to attack President-elect Trump in a video she released to her supporters just before fulfilling her constitutional duties.
“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile,” she said in a not-too-thinly-veiled swipe at Trump for refusing to accept that he lost the 2020 election.
But in the days since Kamala, “the traditionalists” have faded into the background as another version of the soon-to-be ex-vice president has emerged, perhaps for the first time, unvarnished.
The post-election Kamala seems very different from the laughing, glowing, smiling ‘Momala’ who toured the country soliciting votes for a ‘Joy’ campaign.
Could it be that the real Harris has finally emerged – breaking tradition and pushing through social niceties?
Unlike previous vice presidents, she did not extend an invitation to newly elected Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha to a formal meeting at the vice president’s official residence – the US Naval Observatory in DC – a break with a long cherished politeness.
When Kamala Harris presided over Congress’ approval of the Electoral College votes on January 6 (pictured), she adopted the righteous stateswoman’s stance.

The post-election Kamala seems very different from the laughing, glowing, smiling ‘Momala’ who toured the country soliciting votes for a ‘Joy’ campaign. (Pictured on November 5).
Vice President Dick Cheney welcomed Biden as Obama’s vice president to the residence in 2008 and Biden in turn welcomed Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence in 2016.
Presidential historian Kate Andersen Brower told the Daily Mail that the breach of protocol was “a real attack on these ceremonies that are so important to our country, and to democracy and the peaceful transfer of power.”
Indeed, the COVID pandemic (and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots) derailed Harris’ pre-inauguration tour. But she hasn’t recovered from the habit either.
There has now been communication between the Vance team and the Navy assistants overseeing the residence, but this appears belated and reluctant.
And there are signs that the American people don’t like this “new” Kamala.
Daily Mail polls of registered voters released this week show support for her is hemorrhaging, with her favorability rating among Democrats falling by 16 percentage points. Her standing among independents and Republicans is still at an all-time low.
Perhaps the sudden change in Harris’s mood — from unbridled, if not slightly unhinged, glee during her 2024 presidential run to moody brooding — was most evident during President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on Jan. 9.
You could almost feel the chill in the air as Harris and Emhoff walked into the National Cathedral to take their seats in the front row. Neither made eye contact with the former presidents and first ladies already seated, including Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (he went single because Michelle skipped out to reportedly take an “extended vacation” in Hawaii).
Harris’s decided lack of joy was also reflected in the icy look she gave when her gaze fell on Obama, who was chatting happily with her nemesis Donald Trump. Later, her social media team edited Trump out — pointedly — from a photo of the somber event she posted to her X account.
It’s not just new members of the administration who find themselves on the wrong side of Harris’s villainous streak.
She is visibly out and about with her own team.
In addition to failing to acknowledge any Democrats at Carter’s funeral, her interactions with First Lady Jill Biden have become increasingly awkward. It’s no secret that the two women hate each other. Jill has never forgiven Harris for accusing Joe of opposing federal desegregation policies during a 2019 Democratic primary debate.

Jill has never forgiven Harris for accusing Joe of opposing federal desegregation policies during a 2019 Democratic primary debate. (They are pictured together in November).

It’s not just new members of the administration who find themselves on the wrong side of Harris’s villainous streak. She is visibly out and about with her own team. (She is pictured with Doug on January 7).
For his part, President Biden continues to dutifully thank Harris for her “historic” vice presidency at public events, but their gatherings have been noticeably devoid of any warm personal exchanges.
Things are reportedly even worse behind the scenes.
“The post-election reporting between the Bidens and Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, in private settings has been frosty at times,” sources told the Wall Street Journal on January 3.
In recent days, Harris has reportedly complained to close allies that she is disappointed that Biden has claimed in interviews that he could have won the 2024 election had he not dropped out of the race.
Harris is said to have expressed “deep sadness” over her loss and those close to her believe Biden’s dubious claim that he won shows the “one-sided loyalty” of their relationship.
All this paints a very bleak picture of the outgoing Vice President, but apparently a dark cloud has followed her throughout her political career.
As far back as the 2010s, when Harris was California’s attorney general, she was known for running a “toxic” workplace.
After she was elected to represent California in the US Senate in 2017, working conditions reportedly did not improve. Analysis found that her office had the ninth-highest turnover of the 114 senators who served between 2017 and 2020.
Others who worked for Harris before she became vice president told the Washington Post in December 2021 that she often made “soul-destroying criticism” and acted like a “bully.”
All of this raises an inevitable question for Harris, a lifelong political animal: What will she do next?
If the past few weeks are any guide, it looks like she’s planning to double down, not on joy, but on misery.
When Republican Senator Deb Fischer’s husband, Bruce, awkwardly refused to shake her hand during a swearing-in ceremony on January 6, Harris promptly tried to cash in on the moment by raising money for it.
“Some people will do what they do…” read the appeal calling for donations as little as $5.

“The post-election reporting between the Bidens and Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, in private settings has been frosty at times,” sources told the Wall Street Journal on January 3.

Harris has reportedly complained to close allies that she is disappointed that Biden has claimed in interviews that he could have won the 2024 election had he not dropped out of the race. (They are pictured at Jimmy Carter’s funeral).

Harris is said to have expressed “deep sadness” over her loss and those close to her believe Biden’s dubious claim that he won shows the “one-sided loyalty” of their relationship. (The Bidens are pictured with Trump on November 13).
The vice president’s ability to portray herself as a loyal public servant will be put to the real test on Monday when she attends Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol.
“She’ll probably be gritting her teeth while she does it. It’s going to be really hard on Inauguration Day,” said Andersen Brower, the author of “First In Line, Presidents Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power.”
Insiders say Harris isn’t done with her politics yet, and well-connected political strategists in DC fully expect her to emerge as a presidential candidate in 2028 or make a bid for California’s governor in 2026.
But if Harris reenters the political fray, she could hit the same roadblock that thwarted her presidential ambitions this time around.
The problem with Harris seems to be that you can’t fake sincerity, and now that people are seeing the real her, they really don’t like it.