Kamala Harris has not been hiding this year. She’s been to baseball games, she’s been to fundraisers, she gave a speech as she accepted the Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Awards. There are rumors that she plans to run for office again, and we can see that she’s still going to raise money for Democrats and for the causes she believes in. Well, Kamala Harris attended the Met Gala on Monday. She didn’t walk the carpet, there are no photos of her anywhere other than Off-White’s Instagram. She wore a custom Off-White gown designed by IB Kamara and she looked fantastic. The first Black woman to serve as Vice President of the United States went to a Met Gala with the theme of Black Dandyism, and she wore a gown made by a Black designer – the living history of the Black experience speaks for itself. Obviously, Democrats can’t help but eat their own and nitpick Kamala for going to the gala:
Kamala Harris rubbed elbows with actors, musicians and super models at the Met Gala on Monday night, but some Democrats believe her showing up at fashion’s biggest night was a tone deaf move. The former vice president’s debut appearance at the lavish event comes as Democrats are still licking their wounds from the devastating 2024 election loss. The Harris campaign has faced criticism for blowing more than $1 billion in just three months after Joe Biden Stepped down. However, individual tickets to the exclusive extravaganza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art went for $75,000 a pop.
The former vice president was in the Big Apple this week for a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, but she also stopped by the swanky Polo Bar on Sunday before getting dolled up for the gala that takes place on the first Monday in May.
But such stunts show just how difficult it is for high profile Democrats to live in two worlds, said Democratic strategist Max Burns.
“Harris wants to embrace Democratic populism,” Burns said. “But the Met Gala is maybe the most tone deaf place to do it. It just doesn’t send the message Dems think it does.”
Another Democratic strategist told Daily Beast that Democrats “have to be committed to fighting the appearance of elitism.”
“My advice to any Democrat searching for their way out of the wilderness is less Hollywood, more Main Street,” he said.
The former vice president skipped the red carpet first keeping her visit under wraps, but she was spotted posing with a series of A-list celebrities including gala chairs race car driver Lewis Hamilton, actor Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and music producer Pharrell as well as other guests like the rapper Doechii.
Harris was a guest of Vogue editor-in-chief and longtime Met Gala co-chair Anna Wintour, according to a spokesperson for the former vice president. Her black and white silk gown by the brand Off-White was designed by IB Kamara. Doug Emhoff was also in attendance in a suit by Bruenello Cucinelli.
The Met Gala is one of the biggest fundraisers in the world – ticket sales go to support the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The entire budget of the Costume Institute depends on the gala. We’re also living through a period of time when Donald Trump and his unhinged cronies are ending federal funding of museums, arts programs and humanities endowments. Kamala Harris standing up for museums, the arts, the humanities, and the fashion industry… all at once. And that’s before we even talk about why she wanted to go to this particular gala with the celebration of Black culture and the history of Black style. And she didn’t even walk the carpet! Like, I’m not naive, I understand the optics would have needed some explanation if Kamala had swanned up those stairs. But she didn’t do that at all. And all of these awful old men need to stop bitching and moaning about everything Kamala says.
Photos courtesy of Off-White’s IG.
Nah. Get mad about Trump or sit down.
Right??? Is this how Democrats spend their time?? Nitpicking Harris’s advocacy?? Everything else must be going rosy for the mid-terms then…
THIS PART. If Democrats want to win again, they have to take one (and only one) lesson from Republicans, best espoused by Ronald Reagan (yes, I threw up in my mouth a little typing that, but truth is still true): Someone who agrees with you 80% of the time is, at the very least, your “80% friend,” not your “20% enemy.”
This woman, whether your preferred candidate or not, whether you agreed with her or not, like Hillary Clinton before her, left it all on the floor, and did more — took more risks, accepted scrutiny and insult of her and her family, and worked herself to exhaustion — on behalf of the American people and the Democratic party than the vast majority ever will (or ever will be asked to). She didn’t win, and like Clinton before her, a lot of that was Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents who chose to stay home, cast protest votes, or even VOTE FOR TRUMP because of disagreements on *less than 20% of the issues.*
She did the thing. It didn’t work, for myriad reasons, and now she’s done. And just like Clinton, she doesn’t owe us anything now. She’s paid up. If she wants to go the Met Gala, a Broadway show, wear braids (like Michelle Obama), or whatever she wants, that’s the freedom that comes with not getting the job. Let her live.
Seriously. Focus on the actual problem, “democratic strategists” or fuck right off.
White men seemingly have so much time for everyone but the felon fascist in office. They’re the problem and why we’re in this mess. Harris (and a lot of us) did our best and these men are just asking to be stabbed with a fork.
She’s better than I am because I’m ostriching like crazy. Kamala continues to be such an incredible inspiration.
Dude may want to look up the word ‘stunt’ in the dictionary. This was not a ‘stunt’. elno with his chainsaw? Stunt. trump’s depiction of himself as pope? Stunt. Kamala Harris supporting African-American culture history through the use of costume & craftsmanship & artistry? Not stunt.
Well said, Jais👏👏👏
1. The Met Gala is an annual, quintessentially American fashion extravaganza. It’s wonderful Kamala Harris attended, supported the Black Dandy theme, and had a great time!
2. There are a slew of issues and Kamala Harris both warned everyone beforehand and is not responsible for what’s happening now.
She’s a private citizen. The millions of people who didn’t vote and those who voted for the Orange demon or 3rd party made her a private citizen. She can do whatever the hell she wants and the whiners can suck it up.
This, plus can we stop pretending that high profile politicians are not an elite (and I don’t mean that in a bad way)? She is a high profile professional, a celebrity of sorts, and she is rich and (to some extend) powerful. Why does she need to pretend she’s main street?
You know when The Orange One went to serve at MacDonalds for a day like he’s one of the people and a working man? Well, he’s neither. In his case, for more than one reason, but even nicer politicians with a clear conscience are pathetic when they pull stunts like that.
They are an elite. That is fine. As long as they work for the good of the less fortunate. So good on Kamala.
Kamala Harris doesn’t work for you anymore. She can do whatever the f*ck she likes.
Yep. My super liberal cousin was making comments about where’s Kamala, why isn’t she doing anything, and I was like…. she is not on the clock anymore. She is no longer an elected official. She doesn’t have to do ANYTHING.
And I think she deserves that. She owes us nothing. America voted for the wrong guy and we have to live with that.
She’s a guest of Anna so she wouldn’t have paid. The sixth column working again within the Democrats.
No one pays. The cost of tickets is borne by fashion houses and fashion publications. It’s all covered, even the styling for the most part.
Yep. Gotta sow discord among the Democrats while protecting the Republican Party at all costs and on all levels.
Madam VP looked great! What does she have to hide from? She became the nominee 105 days before the election, ran an exemplary campaign, and gave the most standout debate performance since the event has been televised. If you’re an eligible voter who did not vote for her, go back to your dungeon and play with your toys. We don’t need you.
Yes. I’m tired of hearing from various sources that Kamala was a terrible candidate who ran a terrible campaign. She wasn’t and she didn’t. That opinion is largely an attempt to obscure the fact that a significant number of people – by no means just men – didn’t want to vote for a woman, particularly a Black woman. It’s pretty heartbreaking to think how different things might have been now if a few more ‘on the fence’ folk had got off the damn fence and gone to vote for her.
Saying she ran a bad campaign (I agree, she didn’t) or was a bad candidate (I agree, she wasn’t), is trying to let themselves off the hook and not address the real, appalling issues or the fact that some “liberal” white men (and women) “just weren’t sure.” They’re the problem.
She did the absolute best she could and the country let her down. A felon/insurrectionist/rapist was considered more palatable than a black woman. That’s a stain America’s never going to recover from.
I think Kamala should register as an Independent. 😉 I think the Democrats’ establishment doesn’t appreciate her. Let them find someone else to lambast. Create your own table Madam Vice President. Now is time to shake things up. Bernie has been leeching off the Democrats for decades as an Independent and they allow it. How much has Bernie raised for the DNC throughout those years?
I hear you but she’s a leader not a leach and independent doesn’t put you in the CA governor’s office. Or maybe for her it wouldn’t matter, but I agree she’s free to define her own strategy now. I’m here for her next move.
She’s a leader is exactly why I think she should create her own table. People are looking for a leader. I think the DNC is attracting leeches that are using it as an umbrella organization to advance their own agendas instead of a cohesive vision and mission. Frankly it has been a shit show for a while. Bernie has been able to use the organization to his benefit whenever he needs a ride.
She has no reason to switch to Independent. She’s a member of the actual base of the Dem party and they’re not the ones being dicks to her right now. It’s leftists, white Dems, and the podbros doing that.
There is no way to have a 3rd party/non-party POTUS/higher levels of Gov in a two-party system, especially when the 3rd parties don’t want to do the actual work to build up from the ground at the local level. They just want to show up every four years and cause chaos. Even entertaining the idea of her switching is pointless and does nothing to make things better.
People should’ve voted for her. But 90 million sat at home, others voted 3rd party while simultaneously accusing her and Biden of genocide, and white people have done what they’ve been doing since the Civil Rights Act. She doesn’t have to do a damn thing different than what she’s been doing.
The Daily Bitch can f**k all the way off. KDH’s own statement to Vogue explained her presence there. The arts are political. And, especially now when a bunch of Nazis are doing their damndest to erase Black history and culture, I think she knew she had to be there as a statement. It’s white Dem consultants who are tone deaf. This wasn’t just any Met Gala. This one totally met the moment. There are Democrats looking ahead to 2028. They see MVP as a mortal threat to their own white Midwestern governor favorites. That’s the real reason the knives are out for her. She still holds the base of the party.
That photo of MVP Harris with the four co-chairs is iconic. Four Black kings and a queen!
Great to see her Kamala. Did these critical idiots miss the theme of this year’s gala?
There’s an exhibition in the museum with this theme. It was developed by Dr. Monica Miller of Barnard College and runs till October for anyone going to be in NYC. MVP was photographed with her.
Thanks for the info about the exhibit. Didn’t really read the DB article; scanned through it until they quoted an unnamed “Democratic strategist” 🙄. Another nasty DB opinion masquerading as news.
THIS IS WHY DEMOCRATS LOSE ELECTIONS!!! Plus, I assert not one drop of ink would have been spilled on this BS if she were a man.
The members of the GOP can get away with criming all over the place, but one woman can’t attend a fancy event. FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF WITH THIS CRAP!!!
Came here to say the exact same thing. The Dems continue to infight and look like the Keystone Cops while the GOP juggernaut continues to roll over and smash everything in their path. One thing Kamala was extraordinarily good at was bringing people together with a shared goal and I fervently wish for the good of the US that she can continue with that kind of work, be it as Gov of California or something else. I doubt she’d take a run at the 2028 election but her talents should not be wasted.
Exactly. We have Chris Murphy and Cory Booker doing their thing, while AOC and Bernie do theirs, and God love Jasmine Crockett for beautifully calling out bs seemingly on the daily. I’m trying to see all I can, but it doesn’t look to me like they the Congressional Dems and the Senate Dems are working closely together (save for Bernie and AOC). We need ALL house Dems to form their own juggernaut (perfect word!) and I just don’t see it happening with them all vying to be the face of the Dems for the mid-terms and 2028. Not to mention crap like this – yet another – purity test for all the world to see how misaligned they are. Counting on people to vote AGAINST maga instead of FOR a compelling and cohesive Dem platform is a recipe for yet another disaster.
That last pic with all of them is stunning 🤩
It was great seeing her all dressed up having fun, 🤩 you go girl 🤩
And yet, the person who won the election has always lived large and hangs out with billionaires.
He literally lives in a country club.
And then charges US taxpayers for his security coverage etc to stay at his properties…
Exactly this. Imagine if Harris spent her time at country clubs and golf courses. She’d be eviscerated. But supporting the arts is apparently a step to far for some fair-weather Dems.
This year’s Metgala raised a record breaking $31 million. But yeah let’s talk about the laughing black lady that you all didn’t vote for minding her own business. The democrats still have not learned anything and keep making the same mistake. The gatekeeping that goes on with BW will never cease to infuriate me. The 92% are done with the BS. We are in our DGAF era.
The current head of the Republican Party has a gold toilet, but Democrats need to try to appear less elitist? I don’t think so. We really need to dispense with this lie that people vote for Republicans because of the economy or because Democrats are too elitist. They do it because of racism. It makes Republican voters feel better about themselves to pretend it’s about the economy and pretend Republicans are better on the economy. But that lie doesn’t hold up under even the slightest bit of scrutiny. The Democrats have always put forward policies that benefit the working and middle classes and the Republicans have consistently enact policies that harm them. And the Republicans have crashed the economy every time they’ve been in charge. There is no amount of appealing to the common man or putting forth good economic policies that the Democrats can do that will make Republicans vote for them, because Republicans are lying through their teeth when they pretend they were voting based on the economy.
“We really need to dispense with this lie that people vote for Republicans because of the economy or because Democrats are too elitist. They do it because of racism.”
This. Humans re excellent and rationalizing and justifying everything they do, but scratch the surface and the real reason is usually something they don’t want to or can’t acknowledge. Like voting republican for the racism, not whatever nonsense reasons they use to justify that vote. Democratic strategists shouldn’t pay attention to what voters say, pay attention to what they do.
And if I know this from my years of work in direct mail fundraising, democratic strategists should know this too. So I can’t help but think they’re piling onto the Black woman for the same reason as people vote republican.
The critics should rethink their motivations—-we can’t have art gallery/museum exhibits or fundraisers anymore? Stop celebrating Black art and fashion in our culture? Or can this woman just not do anything right?? She looks great too!
People! This isn’t a Democrat, he’s a “Democratic strategist!” This is the worst sort of waffling milquetoast parasite. They came to Washington years ago having working on a winning campaign. They didn’t manage to leverage that into an actual job, so now they are “consultants” or “strategists.” They can only keep their jobs by insisting that candidates listen to them and not the actual voters and activists.
When you see an article quoting a strategist, know that you are reading about what the enemy thinks.
Yeah, it was thanks to strategists that Tim Walz was told to pull back on the very effective Republicans-are-weird messaging.
It was thanks to strategists that Kamala campaigned with Liz Cheney, which didn’t move the needle at all.
These strategists don’t have a clue about the anger that real people are feeling, and that Tim Walz had tapped into. Screw them.
Kamala looks amazing and she deserves to do whatever the hell she wants.
If they keep up this ridiculous narrative, they’ll lose more than emotional and social labor from the Black community, they’ll lose our money and our votes, too.
Yup. People have died for my right to vote — so I have tried to use my votes wisely. “Strategists” may learn the hard way that they should not take the votes of their most committed and reliable voting bloc for granted.
Love the photos!
That is what they want, Black voters and elected officals gone.
If that is what they REALLY want, then I hope they’ve run the numbers tightly enough to understand what will happen when we stay home too. Unless, @Tiffany, you think they’re at a point where they really don’t care. It might already be too late, but we need a third political Party — a coalition of those of us who still value democracy, and the well-being of our citizens.
They have been showing out since Biden announced MVP as his running mate. That is why they were in a rush to get him and her gone. I have been paying attention.
What Tiffany said. I am about to skip voting in the primary in VA. I do not care anymore.
That photo with the co-Chairs is fantastic. As for the criticism, they did the same thing to AOC when she attended.
AOC was an elected official who didn’t do her due diligence when she accepted. She deserved that smoke.
MVP is not an elected official anymore and did her due diligence.
Not the same.
I didn’t see anything wrong with AOC going to the Met Gala. As it has been already stated this event is a fundraiser for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You could argue that all museums should be funded by the Government but that’s not the case and so these institutions have to resort events such as the Met Gala for funding.
Democrats lost in 2016 & 2024 due to SEXISM period! Ain’t NO messaging in the world to combat inhumane biases..87 million folks stayed at home even though they lost family members…sustainable health & money 4 years earlier to that orange POS…millions of folks have lived under ENOUGH Republican POTUS to understand that 🇺🇸 goes to HELL whenever the GOP is in the Whitehouse and STILL they would rather prop up their inhumane biases…I’m HAPPY Kamala is living her life…hiding out ain’t gone change a thang!
Sure, Democrats should do what they can to avoid coming across as elitist. But in a time when Republicans are doing everything they can to erase black people from the American experience, perhaps Democrats should also avoid coming this close to calling her uppity for attending an event celebrating the way black Americans have shaped culture.
Exactly. By definition, it is never elitist to lift up voices of marginalized communities, especially those of African Americans.
the Daily Beast is nothing but an instrument of misogynist, racist hate.
KH is so gorgeous!
Yes, Dems should be more Main Street in terms of actually visiting one and being considerate of how they talk to people.
The clothes mean nothing unless it’s a tan suit 😉
Melania Trump has never dressed “down”, shopped for Wal-Mart makeup or eaten a $2 burger from Rally’s to relate to anyone. Neither has Nancy Pelosi. Not sure why the former VP is being singled out as elitist over a fundraiser…
That pic of her with the co-chairs is giving me life. I don’t even believe any of these “sources” in the article.
Meanwhile at around the same time the ‘man’ who is president had a €1. 5 million (sic) a plate dinner. And has more gold around him than Fort Knox. But Kamala is being ‘elitist’ no doubt.
1. The criticism sounds just about yte. I know Black folks sometimes voice similar criticisms of VPKH, but this compilation sounds very YTE.
1a. Did she blow a billion dollar playing golf?
1b. Call me uninformed but I have never heard a politician who worked as hard as VPKH to raise money but lost an election described as “blowing” money. It like people gave her money for being cute and she did not put it to good use. Sounds misogynistic.
2. The MET GALA was a celebration of Black style, Black excellence—- why should she stay away? It’s not as if Black excellence is regularly celebrated on this scale by white institutions.
3. This is a gathering of successful, influential Black folks —-why should she stay away? Many of then are not only culturally successful but also financially successful and know folks with disposable cash.
4. Many of the attendees were the very people who work hard to raise money and get out voters for her—-why should she stay away?
I think Democratic strategists should — —.
Somehow it’s not a problem when it’s Hillary Clinton attending and she does walk up the stairs.
My fellow Democrats can kiss my ass.
The only thing that is crazy to me is that she is even considering giving this country one more minute of public service. Anything she does she gets criticized for. She laughs – they mad. She frowns – they mad. She’s nice – they mad. She’s mean – they mad. She breathes in and out – you get it.
“Should focus on Main Street” is the new bro talking point. Rahm Emmanuel is all over the place with this. We shouldn’t vocally support the marginalized because it alienates people, we shouldn’t be too elite because it makes us out of touch, we shouldn’t be too liberal because it scares off the independents…These older white guys are using a playbook from 20 years ago and because it isn’t working they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. What they need to do is promote people like the guy that ran Harris’s social media campaign, because he knew what he was doing. They keep sidelining the younger people and insisting they know what will work but they don’t and we are going to end up stuck in this h*ll because they refuse to step aside.
Imagine complaining about this when some of our fellow leftists dropped the ball so badly they let the world’s largest nuclear superpower fall into the hands of corrupt corporate fascists who are robbing taxpayers blind, destroying an entire century of civic progress, and making vague threats of war right and left. The hard left can take a seat. Nobody showed more elitist hubris in this election than those who sat it out and decided through their apathy and/or self-righteousness that eight billion people on this planet should live in fear and uncertainty.
She did her best during her campaign. Unfortunately too many people are too dumb. Now let her just enjoy!