The relationship between US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her 86-year-old father Donald J. Harris seems to be quite sour. This is evident from the fact that there is no evidence that her father has ever met her in the White House or attended her public events.
Kamala Harris’s father Donald J. Harris, a retired Stanford professor and a supporter of Marxist ideology, has maintained a distance from his daughter. He has previously criticized Kamala’s comments and dismissed her political environment as ‘full of noise’.
In her speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Kamala said that her relationship with her father is not ‘close’. Her father’s absence was also clearly visible in this program. Kamala also said in her speech that her father inspired her to be ‘fearless’, but also said that ‘we were mostly raised by my mother’.
While Kamala’s entire family was present in the audience at the DNC, including her husband Douglas Emhoff, her stepchildren, and even Douglas’ ex-wife, her father Donald J. Harris was noticeably absent. Indian-American politician Kamala Harris’s mother is Indian and father is Jamaican. Thulasenthirapuram village in Tamil Nadu is believed to be the ancestral home of Kamala Harris’s maternal grandparents.
Kamala’s big speech at DNC and her father’s absence
Kamala’s father celebrated his 86th birthday just a day after the biggest speech of her life. This speech took place during the program held from 19 to 22 August at the DNC. During this time Kamala secured her nomination for the post of President as the candidate of the Democratic Party.
Kamala Harris’s South Asian identity always includes mention of her mother Shyamala Gopalan. The DNC evening was no different. In her speech, Kamala recalled the story of her mother’s journey and struggle from India to America.
Kamala Harris’s father distanced himself from her
Donald J. Harris was born in 1938 in St. Anne, Jamaica, also known as the birthplace of Bob Marley. He studied in London and earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Berkeley in 1962, he met Shyamala Gopalan, a 19-year-old cancer researcher from India. The two got married the very next year, i.e. in 1963. Kamala was born in 1964 and three years later their second daughter, Maya, was born.
The rift between Kamala and her father started from her childhood, when her parents got divorced. Her parents got divorced when Kamala was seven years old. Kamala’s mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised both her children in California after the divorce.
Kamala lost a major support in her life when her mother died of colon cancer in 2009. However, Donald is now Kamala’s only surviving parent. But there is no record of Donald’s presence even at her swearing-in as Vice President in 2020.
If Kamala Harris wins against Republican candidate Donald Trump, will her father attend her swearing in as President? Everyone is waiting for the answer to this question.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)