Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris: Inside Their Quietly Close Bond
Originally published by Annie Karni and Katie Glueck for The New York Times
Hillary Clinton was on Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, July 21, the day President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, when her phone rang. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had already received a call from the same number, so she knew who wanted to talk to her.
Vice President Kamala Harris was calling to tell her she was running for president and hoping to build support as quickly as possible. Mrs. Clinton didn’t hesitate: She told the vice president she was all in. The Clintons rushed out an endorsement well ahead of many other party leaders, including the Obamas.
As Democrats revolted against Mr. Biden’s re-election bid this summer, Mrs. Clinton wanted no role in pushing him out, according to people briefed on her thinking. But behind the scenes, she was also adamant that if the president chose to step aside, Ms. Harris should become the party’s nominee with no drawn out primary.
The two women, once on opposite sides during the contentious 2008 Democratic primary, have quietly bonded over the past several years, sharing dinners at Mrs. Clinton’s Washington home, discussing high-impact decisions like whom Ms. Harris should pick for her running mate, and connecting over the still-stubborn ways that women in high office can be underestimated.
On Monday night, Mrs. Clinton, who came achingly close to becoming the nation’s first female president, will pass the torch to a woman nearly two decades younger, in a moment that friends say comes with a mixture of bittersweetness and pride for Mrs. Clinton.
The last time Mrs. Clinton stood on the convention stage, dressed in suffragist white, she thought she was on track to be the next president. Much has happened since then — from Mrs. Clinton’s grief over and eventual acceptance of her 2016 loss, to the rise of a new generation of Democratic leaders. And America seems more at ease with women as candidates for the highest office, a shift no doubt advanced by Mrs. Clinton’s candidacies.
But still her party is grappling with the energized movement Donald J. Trump created. The former secretary of state is acutely aware of how challenging it will be to defeat Mr. Trump, and the ugliness of the personal attacks that await Ms. Harris.
“Nothing would make Hillary happier than seeing the first in history beat the worst in history,” said Philippe Reines, a former top adviser to Mrs. Clinton who has been playing the role of Mr. Trump in Ms. Harris’s debate prep.
Mr. Reines said a Harris victory in November would be a “karmic twofer” for Mrs. Clinton — who longs for Mr. Trump’s defeat and would find it more satisfying if Mr. Trump lost to a woman.
Of course, Mrs. Clinton’s presence triggers uncomfortable flashbacks for some Democrats who were devastated by her loss. But many are leaning into the present, watching the stunning reversal in energy for their party since Mr. Biden bowed out, and allowing themselves to feel hopeful — and excited — once again.
“After the disappointment in ’16, I think many, many of us had P.T.S.D. — I know I did,” said Susie Tompkins Buell, a longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton’s and a major Democratic donor who is supporting Ms. Harris. “I’ve never been the same. And suddenly I feel a certain invigoration that I have not had in a long time.”
Indeed, alumni from both Hillary and Bill Clinton’s former campaigns plan to gather for a reunion in Chicago on Monday.
For Mrs. Clinton personally, the chain of events that led to Ms. Harris’s rise has made it easier to enthusiastically — rather than dutifully — back her. Two people close to her described the speech she is expected to deliver on Monday as upbeat and focused on the work ahead.