In a new Vogue digital cover story, the Vice President also recalled not being able to get a hold of her husband Doug Emhoff to tell him the news, due to him being in a Soul Cycle class.
In less than 25 days, Vice President Kamala Harris will find out the fate of her next four years.
The 59-year-old Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate sat down with Vogue for a digital cover story, where she discussed what her first calls would be should she take out the top role, the situation around Gaza and Israel, and recalled the moment President Joe Biden called her to reveal he was leaving the race.
The Phone Call
It was a pleasant Sunday morning for the Vice President on July 21. Harris woke up early to work out while the two young daughters of her niece — who were visiting — chatted to her while watching cooking shows.
“That’s my way of getting away from politics — watching the food channel,” Harris told Vogue.
Once she finished, Harris made pancakes and bacon before settling in for a Sunday morning puzzle with the girls when her phone rang. It was President Joe Biden.
“It’s Joe Biden,” Harris recalled. He continued to tell her that he was leaving the race and was hoping to endorse her to take over. In Harris’ words, her Sunday took a “dramatic turn.”
It was less than a month after President Biden debated former President Donald Trump. The performance left many democrats not only concerned for Biden’s health and wellbeing, but for the future of the country should Trump win in November.
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The first phone call she made was to her husband, Doug Emhoff — the second gentleman — who was stuck in Los Angeles due to the computer glitch that grounded flights that week. However, Emhoff was no where to be found. Harris continued to call but there was no answer.
“And I could not reach him for the world,” she said as she laughed at the thought of where he was. “He was in a SoulCycle class,” she added — a place where many LA natives are on a Sunday morning.
After his class, Emhoff went to coffee with his friend, still without his phone. It wasn’t until his friend’s partner noticed the biggest news of the day on their own phone and said, “I think you need to see this,” Emhoff recalled to the publication. He recalled sprinting back to the car where his phone was with his Secret Service detail.
“There was, like, steam coming out of my phone,” he said “There were so many messages, and all the same message, which was: Call Kamala.” So he did. “She literally just said, ‘Where the eff were you?'”
The rest of the day for the now-2024 Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party became a blur, as she said she made about 100 phone calls and gathered her team in the dining room at One Observatory Circle.
“The big joke around the table was, ‘Who here had actually showered?'” Harris recalled. “Everyone was just around the table doing some aspect of everything that needed to be done. Because, of course, the world was aware of what happened that day.”
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Gaza and Israel
Harris continues to voice her stance on the ongoing war between Gaza and Israel, affirming “Israel’s right to defend itself” against Hamas, and Palestinians’ “right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”
“A Harris administration — to speak of myself in the third person, which makes me quite uncomfortable — would be about articulating those points and hopefully bringing some language that is reflective of the complexity and the nuance of what’s happening in the region,” she said before recalling what happened on October 7, 2023 where 1,200 people were murdered at a music festival and women were raped.
Since then, “far too many Palestinians have been killed,” she said before adding that she will not give up a “sense of hope” that a solution between the two states is possible.
“Even if it does not appear to be imminent.”
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Oval Office: The First Call
When looking to the future, Harris noted what would be the first call if or when she steps foot into the Oval Office. She is focused on ensuring her policies actually get put into effect and felt amongst the average American people.
“One of my first calls — outside of family — will be to the team that is working with me on our plan to lower costs for the American people. It’s not just about publishing something in a respected journal. It’s not about a speech. It’s literally about, How does this hit the streets? How do people actually feel the work in a way that benefits them?”
Since Biden officially pulled out of the race, numerous celebrities have shown their support for Harris by publicly giving her their official enforcement, offering financial contributions and attending rallies. In fact, many stars even stepped out for the Democratic National Convention, taking the stage and giving performances.
Stars such as Taylor Swift to George Clooney have publicly announced their support for Kamala Harris ahead of the upcoming election. “President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again. We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest,” Clooney said in a statement, after calling for Biden to drop out of the race.
For the full digital cover story, go to Vogue.com which covers more of Kamala Harris’ life and her journey into politics.
