As the race of 2020 United States, Presidential Elections has begun, one name has started emerging from a long list of candidates who could possibly be the first president of the United States of America from the Indo-American community and most importantly a woman.
The name of Kamala Devi Harris, a lawyer and current senator of the California province of USA. The 54-year-old Harris had officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Donald Trump in January 2019, saying she was “honoured” to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. A vocal critic of President Trump, Harris, is often described as the female Barack Obama in the Democratic party.
Harris in January 2017 became the first woman of South Asian descent (her mother is a Tamil Indian) and only the second black woman senator in US history, after Carol Moseley Braun when she took oath as the senator of California. Earlier she also served two terms as district attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011) and was twice elected as California attorney general (2011-2017). Harris then became the first woman and the first black person to serve as chief law enforcement officer of the nation’s most populous state.
Born in Oakland, California Kamala Harris is a graduate from of Howard University and University of California and Hastings College of the Law. Born to a Jamaican Father and Indian Mother, Harriss in 2019 interview said, “‘I am black and I am proud of it.’” Harris casts herself as a defender of middle-class families “living paycheck to paycheck” and denounces police brutality and the killing of unarmed black men.
Harris who launched her campaign in January for the US presidential election raised a solid USD 12 million over the first quarter of her presidential campaign. Her chance of emerging as the Presidential candidate for the Democrats could be seen by the fact that her town hall on CNN witnessed an average of 1.957 million viewers getting the network its highest ratings ever for such an event with an individual election candidate, according to the network.
The Indo-American is also vocal about her stance on foreign relations. In 2017 Harris responding to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack accused Syrian President Bashar Al Asad of attacking children. She further stated, “the clear fact that President Assad is not only a ruthless dictator brutalizing his own people – he is a war criminal the international community cannot ignore.” She also condemned the Rohingya Muslims genocide in Myanmar and urged for a stronger response to the crisis.
Harris also supported the resolution which held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. She also believes that North Korea is “one of the most serious security threats” to the United States.
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