Kamala Harris seemed to be gaining momentum after the most recent Democratic Party presidential debate, but there is one person who just told the entire country he does not think she has what it takes to beat Donald Trump: her ex-lover.
Ouch.
In a column for the San Francisco Chronicle, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown dismissed Harris quickly. Brown has been vocal about his previous relationship with Harris and has not held back on commenting about her joining the 2020 race. Shortly after Harris announced her campaign, Brown wrote an op-ed in which he spoke candidly about their past.
"Yes, we dated. It was more than 20 years ago. Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker," he wrote. "And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco. I have also helped the careers of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and a host of other politicians."
Brown added the difference with Harris was she was "the only one who, after I helped her, sent word that I would be indicted if I 'so much as jaywalked' while she was D.A."
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates do not stand a chance against President Donald Trump, Brown says, quickly ticking through the reasons why.
He noted Harris got lots of attention for zinging former Vice President Joe Biden over his stance against federally enforced busing to integrate schools but, wrote Brown, she "got all the attention for playing prosecutor in chief, but her case [against Biden] boiled down in some ways to a ringing call for forced school busing. It won't be too hard for Trump to knock that one out of the park in 2020."
In some way, Harris got easier treatment than her foes.
Here are two examples of how Brown summarized some of the Dems' best:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was called Rip Van Bernie for "looking and sounding" as if it is still 2016.
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg's admission he has not been able to "get it done" in terms of adding black police officers to his South Bend, Indiana force was told to "do better" as mayor before trying to become president.
The former San Francisco Mayor made the comments in his column for the following the Democratic Party's first rounds of debates on MSNBC last week, Daily Wire noted.
"We still don't have a candidate who can beat Donald Trump," wrote Brown, who admitted earlier this year he had an affair with Harris. "California Sen. Kamala Harris got all the attention for playing prosecutor in chief, but her case against former Vice President Joe Biden boiled down in some ways to a ringing call for forced school busing. It won't be too hard for Trump to knock that one out of the park in 2020."
The swipe at Harris comes amid complaints she had dealt Biden a "low blow" last week after pushing against his previous stands on busing and for previously working with Democrats who had endorsed segregation in the 1970s.
"Biden did himself zero favors by telling Harris that he opposed only busing that was ordered by the federal government," Brown wrote. "It was a weird endorsement of states' rights and local jurisdictions' right to segregate schools. That's the best argument he could marshal against busing little kids miles across town?"
Following the debate, Biden had dropped 10 points in the recent polls, bringing him down from 41.5% to 31.5%, while Harris earned 9 points, pushing her up to 16.6% from 7.9% , The Daily Wire noted. Brown hinted the results were insignificant in the long run and the Democratic debates simply emphasized there was no competition for Trump on that front.
"Trump must have enjoyed every moment and every answer, because he now knows he's looking at a bunch of potential rivals who are still not ready for prime time," he said.