Of course, for the highest-ranking woman in U.S. history, birthdays — along with nearly everything else — are a distant second to the job.
At the end of each evening, after reading her nightly “binders” of briefing documents (“about this thick,” she explains, placing her hands a foot apart), Harris says she tries to have some “wind-down time.” Still, she admits that the brief respite and a mug of chamomile tea aren’t quite enough.
“I usually wake up in the middle of the night with some thought of what’s going on,” she says. “Then I fall back asleep, and the next day starts.”
Restless nights, hurried days, intense pressure: Welcome to Kamala Harris’ world, in which the triple landmark of being the first woman, first Black person and first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president carries an unprecedented combination of scrutiny and expectation.
Vice President Kamala Harris, photographed for PEOPLE in the library of the Vice President’s Residence on Oct. 20. She chose the fuchsia wallpaper to “challenge notions of what power looks like.”.Ysa Perez
Ysa Perez
Nearly three years into a role that is notoriously diffuse — “I am vice president. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything,” John Adams famously said — the woman who is a heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world is determined to take things one day at a time.
“The strategy is focusing on the people who are there to support you rather than giving your energy to those who may not be,” she says of her approach to managing negativity. “It’s important to have people in your life who will applaud your ambition.” But she is quick to note that included in that group are “people who are very candid with you. Who are going to say to you, ‘Honey, you need a mint.’ ‘You have food in your teeth.’ Right?”
Kamala Harris at home in the Vice President’s Residence at the Naval Observatory on Oct. 20.Ysa Perez
Harris’ critics, of course, don’t hesitate to point out her perceived slip-ups, from her meme-able “word salads” to deep frustrations with what many see as a lack of impact during her current term.
Although she has crisscrossed the country, most recently drawing more than 10,000 Gen Z students on her “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour” (her favorability among Gen Z holds at almost 60%), she has been accused of low visibility among even her supporters.
She has also been tasked with leading the administration’s public stance on immigration, sparking dissent from all sides. At the final stop of her tour at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, a student confronted Harris about “this country’s inhumane [immigration] policies,” drawing a comparison to the treatment of Palestinians and sparking loud applause from the young crowd. (Harris cited her own “lived experience” as the daughter of an immigrant mother for how she approaches the issue.)
Vice President Kamala Harris joined President Joe Biden (on her left) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (on her right) in the Situation Room amid the war in Israel and Gaza on Oct. 23.Adam Schultz/Official White House Photo
Adam Schultz/Official White House Photo
Experts say that as Republicans and Democrats become increasingly entrenched, those in the White House are unlikely to enjoy the kind of widespread popularity of past administrations. But beyond her traditional role championing the administration’s priorities — includinggun safety legislation,reproductive rightsand theyouth vote— her status as a trailblazer has had an impact that can’t yet be measured either at home or abroad.
With a diverse, largely female staff and events often centered on women and girls, Harris is “showing a woman as a national leader of the major country in the world [in ways] no previous vice president has done,” says Joel Goldstein, author and expert in vice presidential history.
And what about becoming the first Madam President? It’s not a question she’s interested in addressing at the moment, focusing instead on the2024 reelection effortsalongside Biden, 80, and remaining fiercely committed to her mantra of “eating no for breakfast.”
“Some people, frankly, are limited in their ability to understand what’s possible,” she says. “Some people just can’t see what they’ve never seen. And that’s okay. That’s why we have people who break ground, break glass, break barriers.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, pictured with second gentleman Doug Emhoff at the White House in April, says she feels blessed to be “Momala” to stepkids Cole and Ella Emhoff.Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Even at home, of course, Harris is reshaping the vice presidency: a book titledOur Vice-Presidents and Second Ladiesin the pink-wallpapered (her choice) library reflects the fact that “there will not just be a new addition to that book, there will be a new book,” she says.
Emhoff is boththe first second gentlemanand the first Jewish person to be among the “Big Four” in the White House. (In another first, a mezuzah — a Jewish symbol of faith — is positioned on the door of the historic Vice President’s Residence in Washington, D.C.)
At the start and end of each day, “we try to approach those moments as husband and wife, not vice president and second gentleman,” says Emhoff, 59, who recently celebrated the wedding of sonColeto Greenley Littlejohn on Oct. 14, with Harris officiating.
“It’s really our time to be a couple,” he says. “The morning check-in is a little more procedural: ‘Where are you today? Love you too. Have a great day.’ But to the extent we’re able to have that connection at night, it’s really couple time: time talking about kids, family and very little about the workings of our days.”
Vice President Kamala Harris officiates stepson Cole Emhoff’s wedding to Greenley Littlejohn on Oct. 14.Amy and Stuart Photography
Amy and Stuart Photography
Harris’ favorite title is “Momala” to stepkids Cole, 29, andElla, 24. “It’s the name the kids gave me, and I wear it proudly.” She finds the most peace, she adds, with her family.
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For now, that cherished downtime is rare.International turmoilcontinues to shake the globe, the 2024 campaign trail is just around the corner, and millions of Americans on both sides of the political aisle continue to feel frustrated with a variety of issues.
But Harris is unbowed. Sharing that sheattended Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tourthis summer, she says her favorite song is “Break My Soul.”
“I just love that song,” she says. “I play it all the time. I think it’s one of the anthems for women . . . when [Beyoncé says] ‘you,’ you could be life, you could be a person, you could be a situation.Youwill not break my soul. I can endure.”
Kyler Alvord
source: people.com
