Angela Poe Russell: A quality admired by Trump, is likely what hurt Harris

Loyalty. As President-Elect Trump begins filling his cabinet roles, it becomes clear a theme is emerging. And ironically, the quality he’s looking for is the very thing that likely hurt Kamala Harris.

It was a question that Haunted Vice President Kamala Harris in interviews.

Reporter question: “Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?”

Harris: “There is not a thing that comes to mind and I’ve been a part of the decisions that have had an impact. The work that we have done, for example, capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month for our seniors is something I care deeply about.”

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I was struck by people being surprised by her struggle to answer the question, because Frankly, I was not.

Let’s go back for a moment.

When Biden became the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2020, he considered a dozen women for the role and ultimately landed on Harris.

This is despite tangling with him over his opposition to bussing to desegregate schools.

Harris: “Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America?”

Biden: “I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That’s what I opposed.”

Harris: “Was that not a failure of states in America to integrate public schools in America? I was part of the second class to enter a public school in Berkely, California almost two decades after Brown v. Board of Education.”

Biden: “Because your city council made that decision.”

Harris: “So that’s when the federal government should step in. That’s why we have the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. That’s why we need to pass the Equality Act and pass the ERA becuase there are moments in history where states fail to preserve the civil rights of our people.”

Trump even weighed in, saying she was very disrespectful.

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Despite this,  Biden hired her for the job, tas, but if we’re talking about policy,  Her response – while not pretty – was an instinctive loyal one.  The kind of loyalty that Donald Trump says he values most.  I mean –  he never recovered from the Nikki Haley insults. She is canceled.

Could strategists have helped Kamala craft a better response? absolutely,king a huge chance and she ultimately made United States history. So you can imagine how she might feel about a question that is essentially asking her to share how she would be better than her “boss” or to criticize the job he did.

It’s one thing if your boss is being unethical or committing crime

It’s a difficult needle to thread and while loyalty well placed may not serve you well in politics. In life, it’s a quality I 100% respect.

Angela Poe Russell is a local media personality and regular fill-in host on KIRO Newsradio.