Why Do Some Folks Hate Kamala Harris? Here's What Her Critics Say

All eyes have been on Vice President Kamala Harris following President Joe Biden's announcement that he was dropping out of the 2024 election against Donald Trump.

If you're a little confused about why some folks have taken issue with Harris, we've put together a quick summary below on some of the key issues that have garnered criticism against the VP.

If we're going on her VP work alone, critics will say that Kamala simply hasn't gotten much done during her four years serving as Biden's second-in-command, and that she has instead become more known for her gaffes, her "word salad" speeches, and her tendency to laugh at inappropriate times. (Trump even dubbed her "Laffin' Kamala Harris" in a July 2024 Truth Social post.)

Harris, who has been accused of flip-flopping on issues relates to health care and immigration, has also been criticized for her handling of the open border crisis, which has seen a record numbers of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

"Kamala Harris isn’t able to do any job. She was appointed border czar," said Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida while speaking at the 2024 Republican National Convention. "Appointing Kamala Harris to oversee the border is like appointing Bernie Madoff to oversee your retirement plan."

There's also the fact that Harris has been accused of having covered up for Biden's cognitive issues during his presidency. "Kamala was in on it," claims one Trump advertisement. "She covered up Joe's obvious mental decline."

But if you were to go back further, to Harris's time as attorney general of California, there are those who believe her "draconian" policies not only failed to address corruption within the criminal justice system, but also seemed to put more people behind bars — and keep them there longer.

As writer Elizabeth Nolan wrote for Reason magazine in 2019 regarding criticism that "Kamala is a cop":

"During her 28-year tenure as a county prosecutor, district attorney (D.A.), and state attorney general (A.G.), Harris proved quite willing to live up to the epithet. In the public eye, she spoke of racial justice and liberal values, bolstering her cred as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars. But behind closed doors, she repeatedly fought for more aggressive prosecution not just of violent criminals but of people who committed misdemeanors and 'quality of life' crimes."

"Every attorney general fights for state power and police prerogatives," Brown continued. "It's part of the job. But over and over again, Harris went beyond the call of duty, fighting for harsher sentences, larger bail requirements, longer prison terms, more prosecution of petty crimes, greater criminal justice involvement in low-income and minority communities, less due process for people in the system, less transparency, and less accountability for bad cops."