On January 20, 2021, in Washington, a purple silhouette stands out from the stands.
Her name: Kamala Harris.
Joe Biden's running mate, the pugnacious senator from California becomes the new vice-president of the United States at the age of 56.
A historic date since she was then the first woman to hold this position.
As she takes the oath in front of Supreme Court judge Sonia Sotomayor, her hand on a Bible held by her husband Douglas Emhoff, everyone remembers this anecdote told a few months earlier by the principal concerned.
"My mother often said to me, 'Kamala, you may be the first to accomplish many things. Make sure you are not the last.'"
Since then, two years have passed, and with them, the face of Kamala Harris fell, almost, into disuse.
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In video, Kamala Harris is sworn in and becomes vice-president of the United States
Madame Figaro
.- Two years ago, it was expected that Kamala Harris would steal the show from Joe Biden, but this is not the case.
Unexpectedly, she disappeared from radar screens.
We don't see her, we hear little - see hardly any - talk about her…
Dominique Simonnet.
It is true that it is unexpected.
We expected her to be more present on the national and international scene, in particular because before being vice-president, Kamala Harris had a sacred personality.
She gave the image of a determined and charismatic woman.
She had campaigned after being a highly noted, efficient and active prosecutor in California.
Following which, she had been a dynamic senator so everything led to believe that she had a bright future ahead of her.
Alas, it is clear that no, Kamala Harris did not win.
We even have the impression that she is keeping a low profile, preferring to stay in the shadow of Joe Biden.
This attitude is not without consequences: it is not popular.
In American opinion,
she has around 40% favorable opinions, less than the active president (around 50%).
Despite everything, Kamala Harris still marked the history of American politics by becoming the first woman to occupy the vice-presidency of the United States, the first mixed race too.
It remains unique.
Read alsoKamala Harris, the young years of a conqueror
Kamala Harris surprises with her timorous side.
Presumably something went wrong
Dominique Simonnet
So many symbols and expectations that have undoubtedly served her…
It is certain that we undoubtedly expect much more from a first female vice-president, who is moreover a mixed-race woman, than a classic vice-president.
Expectations were very high, which probably explains this disappointment.
Isn't that a bit surprising, especially coming from a woman we liked to call the “Obama Girl”?
Yes, especially since everything was done to give it an exceptional aura.
Kamala Harris was highly watched, scrutinized by all the media inclined to talk about her because she was the first woman to hold the vice presidency of the United States.
So it is true that she surprises with her timorous side.
Presumably something went wrong.
And precisely, what did not work? How to explain this absence - even disappearance - from the media?
Several things are involved.
First, it is not easy to win against Joe Biden.
Contrary to what he may suggest, and despite his 80 years, he is an old political wolf.
An outstanding politician as we rarely see.
He dedicated his entire life to politics, experienced personal tragedies... So
a fortiori,
coping with this kind of personality is no easy task for Kamala Harris.
Secondly, the function of vice-president is a rather thankless “job”.
His main role is to take over from the president in the event of a problem and to take control of certain issues.
In the case of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden entrusted him with very delicate and difficult files such as immigration, with measures to contain the flow of illegal immigrants at the Mexican border.
However, for the moment, the results are not very convincing and this has somewhat tarnished the image of Kamala Harris.
Finally, you should also know that the latter became vice-president at the very moment when the Senate found itself in a perfect balance of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats.
In this case, in the United States,
the voice of the vice-president is preponderant.
This explains the media absence of Kamala Harris, who was very busy deciding issues in the Senate during the first two years of her mandate.
Recently, however, this is no longer the case since the Democrats now have a seat in advance.
To read alsoKamala Harris: "I rushed at full speed, the wind in my face, with the feeling of being capable of anything"
Strangely, it was Kamala Harris who presided over the funeral of Tire Nichols, this 29-year-old black man killed by five police officers. Is this a strategy to return to the front of the stage?
This may be the beginning of its flight, indeed.
That said, it's quite rare for a president to travel for this type of event so it was important - and necessarily symbolic - that the vice-president go there.
Especially since as a mestizo, it is more readily associated with the black community.
So it was a strong signal.
On this occasion, she also gave
an eminently political speech
, in which she had a word for all mothers around the world.
Is this theme of motherhood recurrent with Kamala Harris?
At Tire Nichols' funeral, Kamala Harris was perfectly in her role.
Her presence as vice-president showed that this crime committed by the police was considered an intolerable national tragedy.
Her empathy for the victim's mother, whom she held in her arms for a long time, was sincere.
It was also a mother (even if she did not personally have children, she raised those of her husband) who spoke to a mother.
This feminine approach is important in a country still haunted by old demons of violence.
Far from the cynicism and coldness that some politicians can show, a mother is better able to remember that each citizen is a being of flesh and blood, who has a history, a family, feelings, suffering...
During Joe Biden's campaign, Kamala Harris expressed herself a lot through fashion. We saw her with
converse on her feet
, in a
white suit
and then in a
purple coat
... Details that weren't really.
Is it a communication tool that she continued to use as vice-president?
As vice-president, a function which requires her presence in many official representations, she has adopted stricter outfits.
As male politicians tend to take center stage, color is often a way for female politicians to stand out and provide a less gloomy touch.
So far, Kamala Harris tends to fade behind Joe Biden, and a little more color would not harm him, on the contrary.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
(Philadelphia, February 3, 2023.) Anna Moneymaker / AFP
At this point, can we reasonably believe that she will take over from Joe Biden in 2024 and that she will become, in the event of an election, the first woman president of the United States?
We obviously have questions about his future.
At the stage we are at: either Joe Biden is seeking a second term and in which case Kamala Harris would naturally be his vice-president;
or Joe Biden does not run and she would become the legitimate candidate for the Democrats.
In both cases, serious doubts emanate from the party, in particular from Elizabeth Warren, concerned about her mixed popularity.
But there are two years left and Kamala Harris can still surprise us.
The next few months will be decisive.
She can still do well on sensitive issues: immigration, police violence, the right to vote for minorities... She will have to re-establish close ties with the concerns of Americans.
It's not won but playable.
Does she suffer or has she suffered as a woman from a certain lack of interest or sexism on the part of American citizens?
It is difficult to measure how reluctant Americans would be to install a woman in the White House for the first time.
But I don't think that's decisive, especially for the Democratic electorate that is more open to diversity and equal rights between women and men.
That Kamala Harris is the first female vice-president does not pose any particular problems.
That she is a woman was even an asset in the election of Joe Biden.
Many democracies around the world have female heads of state or prime ministers.
It is more his lack of political presence that handicaps him.
In video, "We did it Joe", exclaims Kamala Harris at the announcement of the victory of Joe Biden in the American presidential election