As Kamala Harris’ last-minute campaign for the White House gathers steam, comments from the vice president are emerging that show she has a deep affinity for Meghan Markle.
This comes amid speculation that the Duchess of Sussex will soon endorse Harris for president, joining the list of celebrities who have backed her, including George Clooney, Beyoncé and Kesha.
Harris did not encounter Markle during her vice presidency, Newsweek reported, but has previously made two public statements about the royal.
In October 2019, while Harris was still campaigning to become the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, she retweeted a video of Markle speaking to a reporter about her difficulty dealing with the heated news coverage of her first pregnancy with her son, Archie.
“Any woman, especially when she’s pregnant, is very vulnerable,” Markle said at the time. “And thank you for asking, because there haven’t been many people who have asked if I’m OK.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has retweeted two of Meghan Markle’s statements in the past, even though she has not encountered the royal family during her term as Joe Biden’s number two.
Amid speculation that Markle will publicly endorse Harris for president, one British commentator believes she could use the endorsement as a ‘springboard’ for her own political career
In her retweet of the clip, Harris wrote: “This is incredibly important. We need to remember that showing emotion is a sign of strength.”
“Meghan, we stand behind you.”
Months later, Harris saw a clip of Markle giving a virtual commencement speech to the 2020 graduating class of her old high school in Los Angeles.
In part of her speech, Markle addressed the political climate of that summer, which was dominated by Black Lives Matter protests following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others.
She spoke about how reluctant she was to share her thoughts because she feared her statements would be “debunked.”
That led to her saying, “I realized the only wrong thing to say is nothing to say,” before listing the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice and Stephon Clark.
Harris agreed with Markle’s message, calling it a “powerful statement” in her retweet.
“The only wrong thing to say is saying nothing.” Thank you, Meghan, for this powerful statement,” then-Senator Kamala Harris wrote on June 5, 2020.
This is the first time Harris has spoken publicly about Markle, with the Duchess opening up about the issues she faced with negative media attention during her pregnancy
Harris also retweeted a June 2020 clip in which Markle addressed racial violence against Black people at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The racial unrest in the country at the time also led to a widespread pressure campaign on Biden to choose a black woman as his running mate. CNN reported.
Biden chose Harris as his vice presidential nominee in August 2020, but later denied that he had chosen her because of pressure from Democrats.
Harris’ compliments to Markle are gaining new attention, says Richard Fitzwilliams, the Daily Express’s royal commentator. predicted Markle will endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Furthermore, Fitzwilliams believes she can use this endorsement as a ‘springboard for her own political career.’
Markle and her husband Prince Harry gave up their roles within the royal family in January 2020 and moved to the US in June of that year.
Since then, they have become increasingly comfortable in American politics, though Markle has long spoken out for causes that support women and girls.
In 2020, they urged Americans to register to vote and reject misinformation.
Ahead of the 2024 election, the duo has already joined a campaign to warn American voters about AI-generated disinformation.
Markle even considered running as a replacement for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in September 2023 at age 90.