Democrat describes unpleasant interaction she had with Kamala Harris, which could explain election defeat
As Democrats begin a political autopsy on how they spent $1 billion and lost the White House to Donald Trump despite his legal troubles, a House Democrat who found a way to win reflects on the bad vibes she got from Kamala Harris.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who is up for re-election in a rural district in Washington state, says Democrats must find new ways to reach rural voters and others in the heartland.
“What I really hope is that we change the type of candidates we support,” she said.
But sometimes elections are determined by the candidates themselves, and not just the environment, and Gluesenkamp Perez revealed an unpleasant interaction she had with Harris at a holiday party the VP hosted.
“When Harris first came out, I was open to talking to her. I know she called many of my colleagues; she never called me. I interacted with Harris once, at her Naval Observatory Christmas party,” she told the New York Times.
The clash took place over fake plastic trees.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., spoke about an awkward interaction with Vice President Kamala Harris at the vice president’s Christmas party. She said her comment about fake plastic streamers earned “kind of an eye roll.”
“I don’t feel very comfortable with that kind of thing,” she said, describing the failed holiday interaction.
‘I had had a few beers and I noticed that almost all the streamers were made of plastic. There are a lot of Christmas trees growing in my district. I was strong-armed into taking a picture,” she continued.
“I said, ‘Madam Vice President, we grow that where I live,’” said one critic of her party.
Apparently the line didn’t sit well with Harris, who is from Oakland. and who faced blistering attacks from rival Donald Trump about her own authenticity. Her rival even wondered if she actually worked at McDonald’s, as she says.
“What I really hope happens is that we change the type of candidates we support,” the rural Democrat said on his way to re-election.
Democrats assess what went wrong and how the party can find ways to capture voters who turned to Trump
‘She just walked away from me. There may have been some sort of eye roll. My thought was: it does matter to people where I live. It’s about the respect, the cultural regard for farmers. “I didn’t feel like she understood what I was trying to say,” she said.
Even if she were to dig into her host’s Christmas decorations, Democrats might want to hear the lawmaker out: She represents a Republican-leaning district and is on track to defeat Republican Joe Kent by defeating Harris in her district.
Democrats are reflecting on what went wrong after Trump ate into traditional constituencies, including union members and minority voters.
His coalition is becoming smaller and smaller, while the Democrats, traditionally anchored in the working class, are increasingly winning among white, college-educated voters.
The race for parliament was an important opportunity for Republicans against Trump-backed Kent.
When asked if she was surprised by the results, she said, “Every time I tried to say something about that, I got yelled at. By everyone. I think I’m at the platinum level of bipartisanship, where I’ve received threats of physical violence from both sides.”
And as Trump prepared to take power and perhaps gain unified control of the government, she encouraged her party to look inward. “It’s a lot easier to look outward, blame and demonize other people, rather than look in the mirror and see what we can do. It’s not nice to feel responsible. It requires a mental flexibility that is painful. So who knows?’