Democrats will rally behind Kamala Harris, says Nancy Pelosi's former chief of staff

As It Happens6:07Democrats will rally behind Kamala Harris, says Nancy Pelosi's former chief-of-staff

John Lawrence says he has no doubt in his mind that Democrats will choose Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election.

Lawrence, is the former chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic heavyweight and former House Speaker, who publicly endorsed Harris on Monday

"We must unify and charge forward to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and enthusiastically elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States," Pelosi said in a statement.

Harris, the U.S. vice-president, was thrust into the spotlight Sunday when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her to take his place.

Since then, she has swiftly consolidated party support for her presidential bid, securing commitments from hundreds of convention delegates, fundraising $81 million US in just 24 hours, and receiving several endorsements from Democratic leaders.

Still, some prominent Democrats have been noticeably silent on Harris's bid, including former president Barack Obama and majority Senate Leader Chuck Shumer. But Lawrence says they'll be lining up behind the vice-president very soon. Here is part of his conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

What signal is Ms. Pelosi sending here with this endorsement?

Mrs. Pelosi is a former Speaker, 20-year leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. And I think she is communicating to the vice-president, and to the party more broadly, and to delegates, that the party is lining up in support of the vice-president.

How would you describe just how much sway and influence Nancy Pelosi has?

She has a lot of influence with the Harris campaign, I'm sure, but certainly with President Biden and with other Democratic leaders. 

I think people respect her for her extraordinary legislative accomplishments, but also her political strategy, her sense of what is achievable and her pragmatism. So she is somebody that, across the board — House, Senate, White House — Democrats go to because they trust her judgment and her incredible ability to synthesize the political intelligence that she picks up from around the country.

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What would a Harris candidacy mean for Canada?

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U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris has strong roots in Canada and lived in Montreal for five years, which is a connection that may help Canada-U.S. relations if she's elected president. Justin Trudeau’s administration is already preparing for the U.S. election, no matter who wins, to ensure the survival of the trade relationship between the two countries.

She'd reportedly said before making this an endorsement … that she wanted a competitive primary. What do you think changed?

I think what she meant, probably, was that there was a disinclination to have this appear to be some sort of a coronation from the leadership of the Congress or the leadership of the party, and that there should be an opportunity for others to consider whether or not they want to come in and compete. 

But I think that over the last day or so, the party's support, both in and out of Congress, has developed overwhelmingly for the vice-president. And so she felt, probably, that the time was appropriate for her to add her endorsement as well.

Is there any doubt in your mind that Kamala Harris is going to come out of the Democratic Convention as the party's candidate? 

None.

Republicans are already attacking Kamala Harris ... saying that she's no different than Joe Biden; she's part of the same package, and that's one major reason people should not vote for her. What do you think she's going to have to do to get away from that narrative? And, you know, we heard her talk about Joe Biden's successes and what they've been able to achieve, but she also has to differentiate herself. How do you think she can do that?

I don't know that she has to differentiate herself from many of the major policies.

If you look at the Democratic positions on choice and reproductive rights, gun policy and building a strong economy, the strongest in the industrialized world, on standing by NATO allies, standing by Ukraine — these are positions that the voters very strongly support.

I think the vice-president is going to have to articulate those things clearly, I think that she probably is going to emphasize her commitment to things like strengthening voting rights, strengthening democracy. She is, of course, a former prosecutor, former attorney general. And her commitment on law enforcement and criminal law is unquestioned.

Republicans are going to work very hard at trying to chip away at her and stigmatize her. There [are] already all sorts of questions being raised as to whether or not she can legally be nominated and all sorts of nonsense. 

This is just chaff that is thrown up by the Republicans. Because I think the problem for them is that they've aimed their entire campaign at Joe Biden, and now that opportunity has fallen apart for them. 

I think it's not going to be quite as easy to take on Vice-President Harris as they might think.

This could change ... but I'm curious to get your thoughts on why we haven't seen endorsements from Barack Obama, [House minority leader] Hakeem Jeffries, [or] Chuck Shumer?

As with Mrs. Pelosi, I think that the desire there is to allow the delegates to make this decision to not have this appear to be some sort of a coronation of the elite selecting the vice-president.

There's no question that as she builds that support within the delegates — and she is doing that, she already has over 500 delegates who are committed to her — there's no suggestion that there's hesitation about supporting her. 

I think, simply, it is part of wanting her to make that case — make that case to Democratic voters, to delegates, to donors, to activists. And what you've seen is near unanimity in her success in doing so. 

All that leadership support will come along now, I think in very, very short order.