Dodd Comments About Kamala Harris Upset VP Search, as Karen Bass Rises

Democrats Monday lambasted a report that one of Joe Biden's confidantes in charge of the vetting process for the vice presidential pick was dismissive of Senator Kamala Harris, because of her tussle with the former vice president during a primary debate.

Politico reported that a longtime Biden donor and supporter relayed a conversation with Chris Dodd about the incident who said, "She laughed and said, 'That's politics.' She had no remorse" over the exchange. During the primary, Harris had a high-profile confrontation with Biden over busing policies in the 1970s.

The report on Dodd's comments comes as Harris continues to be viewed as the favorite to become Biden's running mate among many Democrats and activists, while others in Biden's orbit and party operatives told Newsweek she doesn't have it in the bag. California Representative Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus has also risen in the eyes of the vetting committee recently, with the Politico report attributing it to Dodd's issues with Harris.

"If Kamala Harris is such a lock, why are there five African American women under consideration?" Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist from Los Angeles told Newsweek. "It tells me Biden really wants to pick a black woman, but Kamala Harris is no sure thing."

The reported comments by Dodd angered Democrats and Harris allies alike, many of whom believed that Harris faced more intense scrutiny during the presidential primary as a black woman.

Sergio Gonzales, a former senior adviser to Harris, called on Dodd to disavow the reported comments.

"I think Chris Dodd is really gross for making these comments, especially in the era we're living in now, to have this older white guy leave Congress under inauspicious circumstances and now punish Kamala for competing in a debate, it reeks of this sense that this black woman is out of her place, to be honest," he told Newsweek. "I hope it's not speaking for Biden and the Biden campaign because its a really bad look."

Dodd left Congress in 2010 under a cloud of criticism over ties to large bonuses distributed at AIG, which received taxpayer bailout money, and a favorable mortgage he received from subprime mortgage lender. He also was slammed after insisting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good financial standing, while receiving more campaign contributions from the government-sponsored mortgage lenders than any other lawmaker.

The Biden campaign and Dodd did not respond to requests for comment. But a source with ties to the campaign who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, called the report on Dodd's comments "overblown," while acknowledging the optics of his reported comments looked "awful"—of an old white man criticizing an accomplished black woman.

In May, Biden offered August 1 as a possible date for when his pick would be announced. The source with ties to the campaign said they would expect it in the next seven to 10 days.

The furor triggered by Dodd's reported comments comes as Bass has received more attention over the last week, with Democrats and allies calling her a well-regarded lawmaker who has worked in a bipartisan fashion during her career, while toiling behind the scenes on issues like health care and racial justice.

"Karen is precisely what the country needs right now," said Shannon Murphy, a former communications director for Bass from 2007 to 2009 in the state assembly, who noted Bass was part of the "civil rights conversation for decades going back to the Rodney King days in Los Angeles."

After the 1992 riots, Bass who was a physician's assistant at the time, realized that the crack cocaine epidemic was being fanned by liquor stores in poor neighborhoods, and worked hard to close or convert the liquor stores.

Bass, who has been described as a politician that doesn't seek headlines, was billed as the "anti–Kamala Harris" in an earlier Politico report, and responded with displeasure over the characterization.

"Senator Kamala Harris has spent her entire life fighting for the people," she tweeted last week. "I would never want to be labeled the 'anti–Kamala Harris.' We're fortunate to have had her as Attorney General and now as Senator. She would be an excellent VP and the same goes for anyone else on the list."

Bass' and Harris' offices did not respond to a Newsweek request for comment.

One concern from Democrats about Bass as a possible running mate is that with a public health crisis and sharp economic slowdown, voters won't have the bandwidth to get to know a new figure on the national stage, an area where Harris who has undergone public scrutiny and is well-known doesn't have the same problem.

"In terms of getting to know Bass, she's the real deal," Murphy said in response to the issue. "Karen doesn't seek the spotlight but it always finds a way to shine on her."

The higher-profile has also caused Bass to have to walk back previous comments, as she did Sunday on MNSBC over a 2016 statement marking the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In the statement, she called him "comandante en jefe," which translates to commander in chief, and is viewed as too friendly and respectful of the controversial dictator by some Florida Democrats and Cuban-Americans. Bass said she has talked to her House colleagues "and it's certainly something that I would not say again."

As the vice presidential reading of tea leaves has gone to this point, the conversation often returns to Harris, with the Politico report noting that Bass' rise was only because Dodd was in the market for an alternative to Harris. The California senator released a USA Today op-ed Monday saying "it didn't have to be this way," of the 147,000 American who died of coronavirus, and blaming President Donald Trump for the dire situation. Sharing the op-ed, she tweeted, "We need leaders to lead. We need @Joe Biden."

But Democrats weren't letting the report of Dodd's comments go easily. Democratic commentator and TimesUp legal defense fund co-founder Hilary Rosen tweeted that Dodd should never say something like this again.

"Hey @SenChrisDodd. This is the kind of crappy behavior this process doesnt need," she wrote. "Shut up."