Former Vice President Kamala Harris is back on the campaign trail, and during her first major campaign stop of this election cycle, even the candidate she came to support seemed to struggle to sit through her latest excursion into political word salad.
Harris joined Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on Tuesday for a roundtable focused on black maternal health and healthcare costs. But as Harris launched into an extended explanation of how diversity, equity, and inclusion are intrinsically connected to maternal care, El-Sayed could be seen sitting beside her looking increasingly uncomfortable and disengaged.
“An attack on DEI, to recognize diversity, equity and inclusion, is an attack by definition on maternal care, including the need to protect black women in connection with their pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care,” Harris said.
As Harris continued, El-Sayed appeared to stare off into the distance, shifting in his chair and displaying the sort of facial expressions that suggested he was waiting for the monologue to end. The moment is particularly ironic because El-Sayed was not some reluctant participant dragged into an awkward appearance with Harris. He invited her.
The former vice president has been largely absent from the campaign trail since leaving office, while Democrats have debated whether she could run for president again in 2028. Her appearance with El-Sayed was one of her first campaign stops of the midterm cycle. She is also expected to campaign with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) next month.
For El-Sayed, Harris brings considerable name recognition and a connection to traditional Democratic constituencies, particularly black voters. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll found that 83% of likely black Michigan voters wanted Democrats to control the Senate, but only 67% supported El-Sayed. His primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), had performed substantially better with black voters during the primary. So Harris came to Detroit to make the case that El-Sayed would be a champion for the issues she has spent years emphasizing.
El-Sayed has built his campaign around far-left healthcare policies, including Medicare-for-all, and has sought to unite different factions of Michigan Democrats after a divisive primary. The Washington Post described Tuesday’s event as an opportunity for both politicians to broaden their respective coalitions: Harris could reconnect with left-wing voters, while El-Sayed could benefit from her support among more traditional Democratic constituencies.
El-Sayed himself embraced the partnership. “We’ve got to bring as many folks in as we possibly can to take on the challenges that we face,” he said before the event. “Even where there have been disagreements in the past, the things that unite us as Democrats are so much bigger.”
Harris likewise made clear that she was there specifically to boost his campaign. “I’m here to support Dr. El-Sayed, because, on this subject, I know he will be a champion,” Harris said. “And I have a right to say that.” Whatever the political calculations behind the reunion, the cameras captured a rather different dynamic.
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