Harris prepares for moment in national spotlight

WASHINGTON — California Sen. Kamala Harris will take the virtual convention stage Wednesday night for the highestprofile — and highestpressure — speech of her career.

Harris’ vice presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention will let her introduce herself to Americans who may only now be tuning in to the election, make the case for why presidential nominee Joe Biden should occupy the White House, and energize Democratic voters depressed by four years of President Trump.

But it will also be a test of whether she can shine when the traditional trappings of the campaign trail — including adoring crowds — are unavailable during the coronavirus pandemic, and win over detractors who didn’t support her during her run for president.

The vice presidential speech is always a balancing act between demonstrating what the candidate brings to the ticket and focusing on the nominee for president.

But the BidenHarris candidacy is different from traditional pairings in that Biden was rewarded by Democratic voters for being wellknown and reliable, while Harris is making history as the first Black and first Asian American woman to be nominated for vice president. She’s the one Democrats hope will energize voters.

She is widely seen as a better speaker than Biden at this stage of his career, is known for sharpness in the spotlight, and will be expected to dazzle in her primetime address.

Of the four candidates on the major parties’ tickets, “she is not just the best messenger ... she is the best messenger by a mile,” Jon Lovett, a onetime speechwriter for Barack Obama, said on his podcast with other former communications staffers for the expresident.

Lovett and former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor praised Harris’ first speech with Biden in Delaware, saying it showed her skill even without a crowd present. Vietor said Harris shares Obama’s ability to deliver attack lines against Republicans “with a smile, with humor,” something he’d like to see more of from Biden.

Lovett added that Harris often shines when attention is focused on her.

“She sort of crushes, and in hearings where she really needs to have a moment and step up, she can make those moments really count and really go far,” Lovett said. “It was striking to me just how much that energy, that capability, was needed in this campaign.”

This will not be Harris’ first time in the national spotlight and not her first time at a national convention. She spoke at the Democratic gathering in 2012, when she was a rising star as California attorney general. At the time, she admitted: “I’m nervous.”

Harris said then that she was looking to strike a balance between the diehard Democratic voters and persuadable viewers.

“That’s the question I’ve asked of myself and others many times,” Harris told The Chronicle. “Who is the audience?”

Harris comes to Wednesday’s address with far more experience. She delivered her presidential stump speech multiple times a day last year, all over the country, and appeared in the televised debates. She gained national notice with her sharp questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during the Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings in 2018.

Harris is likely to be closely involved in the writing of Wednesday’s speech and insist on putting her spin on it, those who have worked with her say. She is also demanding of the material. Her former communications director in the Senate had a Postit note on her computer that said, “Show the math,” a common refrain from her boss.

But the delivery will be different. Early nights of the convention showed that even skilled politicians can come across as wooden in the straighttocamera setting. But other speakers showed that the format can be used to their advantage — former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a wellreceived keynote Monday that conveyed far more emotion and connection with viewers at home than a traditional convention hall speech could.

In addition to the virtual setting, Harris will be facing the new challenge of representing not just herself, but also Biden.

Much of Harris’ staff was chosen for her by the Biden campaign, though she was able to bring along some political aides. It takes time for a vice presidential nominee to get used to answering to a campaign that is not her own, said Matt Paul, who served as chief of staff to the Democrats’ 2016 vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine. But he said Harris has already shown that she can adapt quickly.

“This is where it matters that she’s been on the presidential stage, it matters that she’s been through these debates, and you saw that in a very strong performance” at her introductory speech last week, Paul said.

That speech is usually handed to the running mate by the presidential campaign, with a short time for adjustments, Paul said.

“You’re going through the speech in that rehearsal to find the lines that really matter, those either zingers on Trump or very positive lines about Vice President Biden, that you want to hold on to,” Paul said. “This is going to be different in that you’re delivering this to a studio. You don’t get the natural energy that comes with the crowd. That didn’t seem to bother her in the least in the announcement speech, so I expect the same here.”

While Harris’ own presidential campaign fell short, former Obama aide Vietor noted that being a running mate requires different skills. Harris’ campaign lacked a clear message, he said, but as a vice presidential nominee, she will be adopting Biden’s.

“Navigating that huge, unruly Democratic primary is very different than prosecuting the case against Trump,” Vietor said. “She is an expert at prosecuting a case, and we saw it already.”