On Thursday night’s episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, Sen. Kamala Harris shocked viewers and host Andy Cohen by revealing she already thought of a slogan: “I’ll give you my opinion, but my beliefs are not up for debate.”
OK, the current frontrunner to be Joe Biden’s democratic running mate wasn’t exactly talking about a vice-presidential campaign. She was taking part in the Bravo talk show’s long-held tradition of debuting her own Real Housewives tagline—delivered with gusto and to applause from Cohen and the night’s other guest, actress and activist Laverne Cox.
(Hillary Clinton’s recent shot at a tagline: “I’m neither as good or as bad as people say.”)
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Sporting a navy blue blazer in front of a backdrop that might as well have been painted specifically to match, Harris continued to expound the same even-handed talking point when asked about any serious conversation she’s had with Biden about taking on the VP role.
Cohen asked her specifically if there had been any updates in the wake of Amy Klobuchar withdrawing from contention for the slot with the message that Biden should choose a woman of color.
“I’m going to tell you in all candor and seriousness, and this is truly what I mean: I want Joe Biden to win, and I want him to pick whoever helps him to win,” she said, echoing a version of the refrains she’s used before when asked about her VP chances. “And I will do, in whatever capacity I’m in, everything in my power to have him win.”
Coming after Cox spoke about how the fight for trans rights continues even after last week’s landmark Supreme Court win, Harris reminded that the justice handed from the high court “doesn’t change what he did,” referring to Donald Trump and the introduction of policy making it legal to deny trans people health benefits and healthcare.
“I could go through a long list of why Joe Biden has to win,” she concluded. “The United States Supreme Court, the judges who have been appointed for lifetime appointments, handpicked by the Federalist Society, who openly are homophobic—openly!—and talk about what they have done and what they will attempt to continue to do to deprive folks of their civil rights. So that’s where I stand on that.”
It was as impassioned a non-answer as there comes.
Later in the episode, she reacted to Mike Pence’s refusal to say “Black Lives Matter” in a recent interview: “I promise you that Donald Trump and Mike Pence will never use the phrase Black Lives Matter, and that is why they need to be elected out of office.”
She also revealed that, somewhat surprisingly, a Republican who she has an unexpectedly good relationship with is Sen. Rand Paul—though she qualified that was before he blocked the anti-lynching bill from passing, and on the day of George Floyd’s funeral, no less.
Throughout the episode, she cheered on Cox as the actress spoke about her fight on behalf of the trans community, and the criticism the senator had received in the past for her record helping to push through anti-trans policy while Attorney General of California was never mentioned.
(Harris has since taken “full responsibility” for writing legal briefs that opposed state-funded surgery for incarcerated trans women, while also explaining that the stance did not reflect her views, but was a matter of professional obligation.)
If not necessarily the most news-breaking appearance, Harris’ stop at Watch What Happens Live essentially accomplished what it was meant to do: Reveal the loose, good-humored person behind the politician—while, of course, still providing ample opportunity to lay out talking points with passion.
So, in case you were ever curious: Cory Booker is the colleague she’s most likely to get a drink with after a long day of work, roast chicken is her go-to dish when she’s cooking, her first celebrity crush was Tito Jackson—a revelation she giggled herself into a wheeze over—and, though she has smoked pot, she’s never tried edibles.
And on the more gossipy VP front, in response to Cohen revealing that the show’s researchers discovered that Kellyanne Conway apparently liked a tweet that said a Biden-Harris ticket could win, Harris giggled again. What did she think about it? “I don’t know. It kinda scares me.”
