Photo/Illutration Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris makes a point during the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City on Oct. 7. (AP Photo)

“The meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate.”

That is how foulmouthed U.S. President Donald Trump slammed California Senator Kamala Harris, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

What is her background?

Harris’ mother, who was a breast cancer researcher, was born in India and her father, an economist, was born in Jamaica. Harris, 55, was raised by her mother, after the two divorced. 

She attended an elementary school in a predominantly white district, being bused from her home in a mostly Black neighborhood under a program to eliminate segregation.

Harris was around the age of 13 when she challenged a local condo’s rule to “keep off the grass.”

She mobilized neighborhood girls and boys to launch a protest movement until the adults backed down and let the kids play on the grass.

She apparently comes by her political flair naturally.

When was the last time a vice presidential candidate attracted so much attention in a U.S. presidential election?

This year, it probably has to do with Trump getting infected with the novel coronavirus.

Harris lived up to her reputation as an incisive speaker at the Oct. 7 vice presidential debate.

She certainly came across as a very ambitious person, but the impression she gave could not be further from “mean,” “horrible” or “disrespectful.”

The post of vice president has long been synonymous with a do-nothing job.

John Adams (1735-1826), the first vice president, famously lamented that the vice presidency was “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”

But some vice presidents have gone on to become great presidents in the wake of their bosses’ assassination or resignation.

Asked whether she identifies as Black or Asian, Harris crisply described herself as “a proud American.”

Are Americans ready to elect their first female vice president in history?

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 9

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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