Outsider Harris is not the conscience of the Biden era
Craig Turner, 24 October 2025
--

This is a comment on an article in The Australian by Lydia Lynch, "Harris: we
could have pulled more levers on Gaza". [1]

Lynch writes,

    Kamala Harris has conceded the Biden administration could have done more
    to end the war in Gaza saying there were "certain levers we didn't act
    upon".

    Responding to pro-Palestine protesters who were dragged out of her
    speaking event at the London Literature Festival on Thursday night, the
    former US Vice President said she "understood" their emotion and blamed
    Joe Biden for failing to take a harder stance on Israel.

I am uncomfortable with the use of the word "conceded".

Here, I will seek to establish that Kamala Harris was not the conscience of
the Biden administration, particularly with regard to Israel. As a result, I
view her words as a criticism of the regime, rather than a concession of it.

Joe Biden was a long-standing supporter of Israel, once saying "You don't have
to be a Jewish to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist." Over his several decades
of public life he supported the supply of military aid and equipment to
Israel, and repeatedly spoke in support of the strategic partnership between
the US and Israel.

Kamala Harris does not have an equivalent record. And there is no evidence
that Biden asked Harris to be his running mate due to any positions on
international matters.

As Vice President, Harris was a member of the Biden cabinet. But the role of
VP is not always influential,

    VPs are famously marginalized. John Nance Garner said the vice presidency
    "isn't worth a bucket of warm piss." VPs attend meetings but rarely drive
    policy.

    Biden was VP for 8 years under Obama. He experienced limited influence.
    For example, he was deeply critical of the US ongoing involvement in
    Afghanistan, but Obama had recommitted to Afghanistan during his campaign.

    If the March 2024 "no daylight" claim was damage control after Selma, it
    suggests Harris was trying to create distance but the administration
    quickly slapped it down. This could be evidence that she lacked autonomy.

    We should entertain a strategic explanation for Harris being visible on
    Gaza. Biden may have wanted her visible on Israel/Gaza issues precisely
    because she lacked influence - she could be the "empathetic face" for
    progressive voters while he maintained his actual policy of broad support
    for Netanyahu's action.

Harris can talk about what happened when she was in the room, but we should
not view her as spokesman for the Biden presidency, particularly on matters
that concern Israel.

After 7 October 2023, Harris distanced her brand from Israeli interests,

    In March 2024, Harris delivered the Selma speech,

        Here she placed unconditional responsibility on Israel for the
        delivery of aid to Gaza Palestinians. At this time time, Israel was at
        war with the effective government of that territory.

        In this single speech Harris took a contradictory position. She said,

            "Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that has vowed to repeat
            October 7th again and again until Israel is annihilated."

            "The threat of -- Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be
            eliminated."

        Immediately after that she said,

            "And given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be
            an immediate ceasefire .. for at least the next six weeks, which
            is what is currently on the table."

        I find this contradictory.

        Establishing a cease-fire would remove pressure from Hamas and that
        seems incompatible with the goal of eliminating Hamas.

        If there had been a clear strategy that established a humanitarian
        break whilst also offering a path to destruction of Hamas, then that
        could build credibility for a ceasefire. But I see no evidence that
        the US had such a plan at time, or has at any time since.

        As a result, I find her demand to be unreasonable.

        Harris is an educated woman. So why say this? One explanation is that
        this was a branding exercise.

        Harris was putting distance between herself and the legitimate cause
        of the government of Israel to seek the return of their hostages.

        Harris was working to establish her Palestinian sympathies. These
        causes play well amongst the academic elite and with Arab Americans.

        The Lynch article claims Harris's spokeswoman said there was 'no
        daylight' between Harris and Biden on Gaza matters in late 2023, but
        the only 'no daylight' reference I have found in this context is from
        a Politico article in March 2024 [2], immediately after her Selma
        speech.

    In July 2024, Harris snubbed Netanyahu's first speech to congress since
    the attacks of 7 October 2023,

        Israel is a long-standing and staunch US ally that is defined by its
        western institutions and the liberal lifestyle that the majority of
        its citizens enjoy.

        It was attached by a listed US terrorist organisation, leading to the
        death of more than a thousand young-adult civilians, and the
        kidnapping of two hundred and fifty.

        As a sitting Vice President, it is reasonable to expect Harris to make
        efforts to attend that speech, even if she expected to have pointed
        differences from the substance of it.

        Harris organised her calendar to attend a sorority event away from
        Washington.

        Her claims that it was not a snub should be seen in the context of the
        facts, and a broader reflection on her credibility.

Harris attended meetings, and so had insider knowledge. She did not have
decision making authority.

We should see her comments as the reflections of someone who performed public
dissent while she was VP but lacked real influence.

==
:1 https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/harris-we-could-have-pulled-more-levers-on-gaza/news-story/b5b99e570ae6bce1467ff75c0a18905c?commentId=5395f6ff-eeb2-4121-9131-833fc1dee2ea

:2 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/26/kamala-harris-joe-biden-israel-00148955