Vice President Kamala Harris is the right person to lead the November ticket and keep minority voters in the Democratic fold, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday.
Mr. Adams, speaking to MSNBC, said Ms. Harris can strike the right balance between public safety and criminal justice reform. He said that’s what Black communities want.
“Those communities are pro-public safety. We could have the balance of public safety and justice,” said Mr. Adams, a Democrat. “I think having a presidential candidate that is going to be forceful with her prosecutorial background, with a law enforcement background, I think it’s the right message right now, because some of the reasons we’re losing many people in these communities — working class communities — is because they don’t believe we are connecting with those real issues with them.”
Mr. Adams was referring to Ms. Harris’ record as a district attorney in San Francisco and tenure as California attorney general from 2011 to 2017.
Some liberal voters have looked askance at that record, dubbing her a “cop” in online commentary.
Ms. Harris made history as the first woman, first Black American and the first South Asian American to be elected vice president.
President Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Ms. Harris, who spent the following 24 hours consolidating party support to secure the nomination.
The New York mayor said her background and message will help Democrats retain minority voters who, polls show, are slowly gravitating toward former President Donald Trump.
“I think that she is the voice that the party needs right now,” Mr. Adams said. “We’re hemorrhaging African Americans. We’re hemorrhaging Hispanic voters. We’re hemorrhaging those working-class people who don’t realize the Democratic Party has a good product.”
Mr. Adams also insisted that Ms. Harris can leap from No. 2 to the top of the ticket.
“The person I am now was not the person I was as borough president,” Mr. Adams said. “You move into these very important positions. I think she’s ready for it.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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