Since her failed first presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has a history of trying to relate to young people as a modern politician aware of what young people like these days.
Harris, 59, officially belongs to the “Baby Boomer” generation, although she tries to hide her age and fit in with younger generations, including Generation Z born after 1997.
“Sorry, she’s a boomer. Rules are rules, slackers.” wrote Washingtonian reporter Andrew Beaujon in 2020. ‘Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964. She is the end of the Baby Boomer generation.’
Harris recently came under fire after she was repeatedly filmed using a smartphone on speakerphone, holding it close to her ear, despite the audio being blasted on the device during calls with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, and with the widow of Alexei Navalny.
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on the phone with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama
Vice President speaks with Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexey Navalny, while the phone is on speakerphone
It’s the kind of activity that screams “boomer,” even as the vice president tries to emphasize her youthful personality while running her own campaign for president.
Last fall, Harris embarked on a tour of American universities in an effort to shift her brand away from the aging President Joe Biden and toward Generation Z.
“I love Generation Z,” he said repeatedly as he crisscrossed the country.
Kamala Harris arrives on the television program ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’.
“Let me tell you, I love Gen Z. I don’t know, there’s something about… I love Gen Z,” she said with a laugh at an event in July.
‘Well, for the older folks out there, this is going to be a humbling experience that I’m going to share with you. If someone is 18 today, they were born in 2005. Oh yeah, look at that. Think about that for a minute.’
At another event, she urged adults to be patient with their Gen Z children.
“I love Gen Z. I really do. I know it’s hard to have a Gen Z in your family. But they’re so amazing,” she said during another event.
Though she typically wears professional suit pants as vice president, Harris frequently talks about her love of Chuck Taylor sneakers and casual clothes when she’s not working or when she ran her first campaign.
“I have a whole collection of Chuck Taylors: a black leather pair, a white pair, I have the kind that doesn’t have laces, the kind that does have laces, the one I wear when it’s hot, the one I wear when it’s cold, and the platform one for when I wear a pantsuit,” he once said. explained To the cut.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) Converse high-top sneakers are shown as she speaks at a drive-thru early voting event.
As a presidential candidate, Harris frequently danced with young people, with marching bands and even on her campaign stage while expressing her love of music and dance.
In September, she was caught on camera singing Q-Tip’s song “Vivrant Thing” as she hosted a party celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary at the vice president’s residence.
But even Harris admitted that despite her love of watching shows with her husband Doug, she struggles to stay awake sometimes.
“We sit on the couch in front of the TV with the switcher for about 45 minutes debating which Netflix show to start watching, and we weigh the pros and cons of each and when we’re done we’re ready to go to bed,” he said.
He also likes to boast that his language is not censored despite his position.
“I’m pretty sure I’m the first vice president to use the word ‘uterus’ in front of the press, and I didn’t stop there, I said the F-word, I said fibroids,” she said, laughing. “I’m pretty sure, I mean, we could do a fact check, but I’m pretty sure no other vice president has ever done that in public.”
Harris repeatedly used the f-word on stage, in an attempt to connect with young people struggling to get by.
“Sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open, and sometimes they won’t, and then you’ll have to kick that damn door down,” Harris said during a panel discussion with comedian Jimmy O. Yang in May.
Harris made headlines after joking about smoking marijuana in college and also about his love for ‘Snoop Dogg’, ‘Tupac’ and ‘Cardi B’, in college with the Breakfast Club radio show crew.
“Yes, I did inhale it. It was a long time ago,” he said, supporting the legalization of marijuana.
“I think it brings joy to a lot of people. We need more joy in the world,” he argued.
Harris was ridiculed after taping an appearance with host Taraji P. Henson where she referenced popular rap songs for the July 2024 BET Awards show.
“Yeah, girl, I’m here, in these streets. And let me tell you, you’re right, Taraji. There’s a lot at stake right now. Most of us believe in freedom and equality. But these extremists, as they say, don’t like us,” Harris said, referencing Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us.”
During the campaign, Harris frequently referred to her love of Marvel movies and even compared her opponent Donald Trump to Marvel villain Thanos.
When asked which Marvel superhero she would like to be, she hesitated, but ultimately chose the character Shuri from Black Panther.
Harris also once performed the Wakandan salute on television, announcing her candidacy for the fictional African nation’s “Senate” as a joke on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
In her new presidential campaign, Harris has toned down some of her attempts to make her millennial theme go viral.
But his campaign still appears eager to recruit the baby boomer generation as it tries to mobilize the Democratic Party.
“It’s happening!” Harris’s husband’s ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, wrote on social media, sharing details of a campaign event with “Seniors for Harris.”
“Barb and Mike are excited to meet the Boomers!” she concluded.
