It’s been a tumultuous year in American politics, and few figures have found themselves at the center of more controversy and scrutiny than Kamala Harris. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, Harris’s journey from vice president to presidential nominee, and ultimately to her recent decision not to run for governor of California, has been marked by shifting public perceptions, internal party debates, and, at times, a struggle to connect with voters. The story of Harris’s political trajectory is intertwined with broader conversations about identity, leadership, and the sometimes confounding nature of public life in the digital age.
To understand the complexity of Harris’s public image, it’s helpful to recall the ancient fable of “The Elephant in the Dark,” penned by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. In the story, townspeople grope at different parts of an elephant in a pitch-black room, each emerging with a wildly different impression of what the animal is. As Rumi suggests, relying on partial information can leave everyone confused. According to reporting by The Hill, this metaphor seems apt for Harris’s political career, as many voters have struggled to grasp her core beliefs and vision, often left “in the dark” about what she truly stands for.
Harris first entered the national spotlight as one of more than twenty candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Despite her impressive resume and background as a woman of color, her campaign failed to gain traction. Voters, much like Rumi’s townspeople, were left clutching at fragments of her policy positions, never quite able to see the full picture. In a memorable interview before she dropped out of the race, Harris addressed what she called “the elephant in the room,” stating, “There is a lack of ability or difficulty in imagining that someone we have never seen can do a job that has been done 45 times by someone who is not that person.” She argued that America was not ready for a woman of color to be president, though her interviewer pointed out that Barack Obama had already broken that barrier and Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote in 2016.
When Joe Biden became the Democratic nominee, he selected Harris as his running mate, citing her minority status and gender as important factors. During her tenure as vice president, Harris’s public approval ratings hit record lows, with The Hill reporting in 2023 that she had the lowest favorability rating for a vice president in recent memory. Still, when President Biden declined to run for reelection due to health issues, the Democratic Party turned to Harris as their nominee. Once again, however, voters struggled to pin down her policy priorities, and she ultimately lost both the electoral and popular votes in the presidential election—a result that seemed to reinforce her earlier claim about America’s readiness for a woman of color in the highest office.
Despite her defeat, many observers expected Harris to rebound by running for governor of California in 2026. Her first public appearance after the loss was at an event hosted by Emerge, a group that trains Democratic women for office. There, Harris invoked the image of elephants at the San Diego Zoo circling to protect their young during an earthquake, urging her audience, “The instinct should be to immediately find and connect with one another, understanding that the circle will be stronger.” Yet even her supporters found her metaphor somewhat perplexing, underscoring the persistent challenge of communicating her message clearly.
In August 2025, Harris announced she would not run for governor. Political analyst Juan Williams speculated on Fox News that she was discouraged by poor internal polling numbers, saying, “She got a little bit of a shock when she looked at some of those internal polling numbers and saw, despite having run for president, there was no overwhelming support for her in running for the governor’s office in California.” Harris, however, offered her own explanation in an interview with Stephen Colbert: “I don’t want to go back into the system. I think it’s broken.”
While Harris’s political fortunes have waned, her family has also found itself in the spotlight. Her stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, a 26-year-old model and designer, recently went viral after sharing her struggles with “climate anxiety” on TikTok. Emhoff lamented, “I think everything with the environment is really... f***ing getting to me. I experience a lot of climate anxiety, like I think a lot of us do.” However, her comments were quickly met with accusations of hypocrisy after she was seen using plastic bags—a detail that did not escape the notice of social media critics, especially given Harris’s previous support for banning single-use plastics during her 2019 presidential campaign. (She later reversed her position in 2024 to appear “more practical,” according to Daily Mail.)
This wasn’t the first time the Harris-Emhoff family had faced such criticism. In January 2025, Harris and her husband were spotted carrying plastic bags during a grocery store trip, sparking outrage among environmental advocates. California’s 10-cent fine on single-use bags only heightened the sense of contradiction. Online observers were quick to point out what they saw as a pattern of “flip-flopping” on environmental issues—not just by Harris, but by Emhoff as well, who has often posted videos featuring plastic bags and containers.
Meanwhile, Harris has also been the subject of jabs from across the political spectrum. In August 2024, former President Donald Trump, speaking at the U.S.–Mexico border, attempted to criticize Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom by saying, “San Francisco was great fifteen years ago,” inadvertently praising their tenure as district attorney and mayor, respectively. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova found the moment amusing, responding to a meme about Trump’s remarks with a simple “lol.” Navratilova, who has frequently criticized Trump for his political choices, later remarked on social media that after a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, Trump’s posture resembled “the body language of a beaten man.”
Not all criticism has come from the right. Liberal commentator Bill Maher recently called out Harris and other prominent Democrats for being “afraid” to appear on his show, “Real Time.” Maher, a longtime liberal voter, said, “You think we don’t ask? We ask these people every week. They say no.” He contrasted this with Republicans, whom he praised for showing up and “taking their beating like a man.” Maher’s critique underscored a broader frustration among some on the left about Democratic leaders’ reluctance to engage in tough, unscripted conversations—even with friendly media figures.
As Harris steps back from the political arena, the questions that have long surrounded her career remain unresolved. Is she a misunderstood trailblazer, unfairly judged by a public not ready for her brand of leadership? Or has she, like the townspeople in Rumi’s fable, failed to see herself clearly, mistaking partial admiration for true support? For now, Harris’s legacy is as complex and contested as ever—a reminder that in politics, as in life, clarity is often elusive, and the search for understanding can leave even the most seasoned figures groping in the dark.
