Harris-Walz 2024: DNC Chair Jaime Harrison Reflects on Historic Nomination

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, ANCHOR: Well, now, when the DNC kicked off on Monday, party chairman Jaime Harrison was first at the podium. The South Carolina native reflected on the moment, writing on Twitter, only in America could a round headed boy raised by a single mother end up gaveling in a historic convention to nominate our first black woman president. Well, Harrison, you may recall, burst onto the national scene in 2020 when he launched a surprisingly competitive Senate campaign against Lindsey Graham. Walter Isaacson spoke to Harrison about the week that was, and what challenges his party faces between now and November.

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WALTER ISAACSON, CO-HOST, AMANPOUR AND CO.: Thank you, Bianna. And Chairman Jaime Harrison, welcome to the show.

JAIME HARRISON, DNC CHAIR: Thank you so much for having me.

ISAACSON: Congratulations. It was a pretty crisp, clear convention with a whole lot of themes. And let me go through them. One of them was freedom. He used the Beyonce song, the John Batiste song. Every speaker hit it. It was a shift from the theme of democracy that Joe Biden was using. Important theme, but sort of a less personal one. Tell me about the shift to the theme of freedom.

HARRISON: Well, freedom, is just — you know, that’s what we’re fighting for in this country. And we have seen a full fronted assault on the freedoms of the American people. I mean, you take a look at women in this country. For the first time in 50 years, women don’t have the freedom to control their own bodies all across this country. You know, I’m 48, and all of my life, up until just a few years ago, we’ve been gaining more freedoms in this country. You know, folks gaining the right to vote, because all of us did not always have it. My grandparents did not always have it. Women gaining the right to control their own bodies. And for the first time, because of Donald Trump and the people that he appointed to the Supreme Court, and because of the Roberts Supreme Court, those freedoms have been ripped away. The Voting Rights Act gutted under Roberts. Roe versus Wade destroyed under Roberts. And then, you hear in the dictum of some of these opinions from folks like Clarence Thomas that said, we’re not done in terms of going after other freedoms. And that’s why we had to — Democrats had to move forward in terms of marriage equality. Because Clarence Thomas and his yoke were talking about going right at that particular freedom that has been gained over the course of the past few years. So, freedom is a really, really, important component. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent. America is built on freedom. And we need — and somebody has to protect it. We don’t see that protection coming from the Republicans that we see an assault on and Democrats are going to be those joyful warriors, those hopeful warriors that will do everything within our power to protect America’s freedom.

ISAACSON: You know, one of the things I noticed last night as I’m sitting there in the hall seemed somewhat unusual for my days of covering Democratic Conventions, everybody had an American flag, people chanting USA, the flag’s marching down, the speakers are all talking about USA and patriotism. Tell me about the decisions you all made to recapture the notion of the flag, the country, and patriotism.

HARRISON: Well, it’s important to understand, you know, when you say that you support the United States of America, then that means supporting what our constitution says, supporting what the Declaration says. We have had and heard from Donald Trump, his own words, not mine, that he wants to be a dictator on day one. That he’s OK with ignoring and sometimes pushing off the constitution of these United States. Joe Biden said this also clearly, you can’t just love this country only when you win. This is about loving America all the time. And the Democratic Party looks like America. We represent the diversity and the strength and the values of this country. We believe that everybody, everybody, regardless of your race, your religion, who you love, how you love, how you identify yourself, should live, be able to live their American dream. I can’t say that for the other side. You look at Donald Trump, look at that convention where you saw — our convention, where you saw such unity, some happiness, and joy. I mean, it was like a big family reunion, right? People are dancing, they’re crying, they’re hugging. You look at the Republican Convention, these people had signs chanting for mass deportation. This country built by immigrants, right? So, that’s the stark contrast right now between the parties. They’re doom and gloom and fear. We’re hope and joy. And I think hope and joy beats doom and fear every time.

ISAACSON: Another thing that struck me, which seemed different from some previous Democratic Conventions, was the emphasis last night in particular on national security. Having veterans in the party up there. Having Leon Panetta as sort of an unexpected, in some ways, primetime speaker, with one of the toughest speeches on the need for American defense, and the vice president said it herself in her acceptance speech. Tell me how you were thinking through the need to project that a woman, like Kamala Harris, we’ve never elected a woman before, can be a commander- in-chief strong on national defense and the military?

HARRISON: Well, you know, one of the things that we were thinking is, listen, we knew how strong the VP is, and I think a lot of world leaders know how strong the VP is. And we wanted to make sure that we demonstrated that. This is someone who is respected on the world stage. You remember early on in this administration when there was some friction because of, you know, contract — submarine contract with Australia and France. Well, you know, Kamala Harris early on in this administration was seen as an emissary to soothe over some of the frustrations over in France. And she and the president of France have now become very close, and she actually helped to rebuild and strengthen that relationship with this ally that has been an ally for such a long time. And so, she’s met with hundreds of world leaders. This president is extremely strong, but she’s also very empathetic. She understands — you know, she comes — she’s a progeny of immigrants. And she understands the hardships and the struggles that some face in many countries. Her visit to Africa didn’t get a lot of coverage. But it was so amazing to see and to witness, particularly as a black man. And so, I can’t wait to see her on that stage as our commander-in-chief because she’s going to be strong, but she’s also going to have a heart and understand the trials and tribulations that so many face.

ISAACSON: You know, as party chair you had to make a pretty strong pivot about four and a half weeks ago. Suddenly you’re planning for this convention of renominating Joe Biden and, boom, you got something totally different. Tell me about that pivot, what you all scrambled to do to change the convention.

HARRISON: Well, you know, some of it wasn’t really a big pivot, to be quite honest, because when you think about it, in 2020, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris really did not get a traditional convention. You know, we were online via COVID. They didn’t get the traditional inauguration. They actually didn’t have all the pomp and circumstance for an inauguration. And so, we went into this convention, one looking for a host city that could help tell their story and the story of this administration and the achievements, but most importantly, we went into this convention thinking about how do we tell the story of Joe Biden, of Kamala Harris. And so, when the switch happened, we knew that we were already preparing to tell the story of Kamala Harris, but now, we also needed to be able to tell the story of Governor Tim Walz, and then shift how we told Joe Biden’s story, not as the nominee, but as the transformational president that he has been. I will go down saying that Joe Biden is the most transformational president of my lifetime. When you look at his legislative achievements, it is hard to find any comparison outside of Lyndon Baines Johnson, in terms of the sheer number and volume and impact of those legislative achievements. And what gives him even a little notch more is he did it with the 50/50 Senate on a good day and a less than five-seat majority, the same majority that Republicans have. And so, we wanted to make sure that then we could do that. We give the person thoseflowers, but tell the story of Kamala Harris.

ISAACSON: When I was walking to the hall, you know, we’d see the Palestinian protesters and that was one of the things that Vice President Harris had to navigate. And I want to read you from her speech, because she did a very careful navigation of it. She said, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself. And then she said, but what has happened in Gaza is devastating, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. To me, that was a shift of tone, a noticeable shift of tone from President Biden to just really empathize with the heartbreaking plight of many Palestinian civilians, how is she going to try to keep the party together on those issue — this issue, especially when so many Palestinians feel disenfranchised now?

HARRISON: Yes. Well, you know, that’s what I mentioned earlier about strength, but empathy. And those two things can coexist at the same time and they can be in the same person. And I think that’s what — you know, I thought that section of the vice president’s speech was just absolutely spot on. It was beautiful in many ways because that’s where we have to be. We can stand with our allies and at the same time, we can also see the hurt and the pain and want to and to actively lean into doing things to address that as well. Those, — you know, it doesn’t have to be black or white, right? There’s that room in the middle in order to really pave that path. And I believe that this is the — this is a person who can do it in Kamala Harris. And I hope we get it done before she becomes president. You know, because the need right now is tremendous and it’s great. And so, I know that she’s feverishly working with President Biden and the national security team day in and day out to try to make progress here and to go and secure a ceasefire.

ISAACSON: One of the decisions that you all who were organizing this convention had to make was whether or not to have a speaker from the uncommitted delegates who were representing the Palestinian cause. To what extent did you have discussions about having a Palestinian speaker? And why, in the end, did you not have a pro-Palestinian speaker during the convention?

HARRISON: Well, that section of ours — of our program, I wasn’t actively involved in. But, you know, what we tried to do is to make sure we brought folks on that stage that are respected and opinion points in all perspectives. And there were folks on that stage who had those reflections. I mean, the requests from folks in the various groups and pockets, you know, we’re a very diverse party. It is our strength, but also, it can also, at times, create difficulties because there’s the sheer volume of groups that make up almost — you know, in some fashion, we’re a little coalition like, you know, and when you think about the Democratic Party. Similar to what you find in Europe and what have you, you have all of these segments and these groups that —

ISAACSON: But let me get back to that issue of whether or not to have that speaker, because it was a two- or three-day discussion. Are you worried about, especially Michigan, Minnesota and other places, by deciding not to have a pro-Palestinian speaker? What are you going to do to reach out to that community?

HARRISON: Well, I think the vice president’s speech laid the foundation for that. She spoke her truth. And I think her truth — and when you talk to folks in those communities, I think you see some semblance of all of that right in those communities. And so, she’ll continue to go and reach out to those communities. We will continue to go and get — go to those areas. We’ll go to where people are and have the discussions. And not only will it just be about words, because, you know, I’m a firm believer that it is not about just telling people about where you are, it’s about showing them. And I think the most powerful thing that we can do over the course of the next few weeks as we get to November is not just tell people about our position, but to actively show them with our actions. And that’s what the vice president along with the president are working on day in and day out, to show folks that we are committed to getting a ceasefire. We’re committed to protecting, you know, the Israeli people as well as the Palestinian people. And I think our actions are going to be a much more powerful than our words.

ISAACSON: A while back, you said his DNC chair, one of your big goals would be to reengaging and winning back Latino and black men who have drifted away from the party. Trump just yesterday was bragging that he’s getting black men Latinos for him. Tell me what you’re doing and what you’re seeing in that regard.

HARRISON: Well, I think Donald Trump continues his delusion because he’s not getting black men and Latino. We have been actively for — the last three and a half years, I’ve been going around into the communities, making sure that we have conversations with black men and Latino men so that they understand that we don’t take them for granted, that we see them, that we hear them, but most importantly, we value them, and we’re going to fight like hell for it. And, you know, everybody wants to be seen and heard, everybody. And they want to know that you have an agenda for them. That you understand the hardships that they’re facing. And I think, you know, the vice president, well, is rolling out things because that economic anxiety is still a really present thing. You know, black men and Latino men want to take care of their families. They want to make sure that there’s security, not only personal security, but economic security as well. And so, it’s the most dehumanizing thing for a man is to feel as though he cannot protect. He cannot defend. He cannot take care and produce for his family. And so, we understand that, and we’re making sure that our messages are rooted in that. And we’re making sure that the outreach that we do is also rooted in that.

ISAACSON: This was a historic nomination, first black woman, South-Asian woman. We’re seeing history being made, but one of the things that struck me is that Vice President Harris didn’t dwell on that in her speech, the historic nature of it. Tell me about what you see as historic nature and perhaps why she didn’t talk about it more.

HARRISON: Well, you know, I think what’s really important for folks is to understand that, you know, regardless of her background, this is a person who is ready on day one to be the commander-in-chief. There’s probably no one more equipped to be so. She has been the Vice President of these United States for the last three and a half years. She’s helped, showed — stood shoulder to shoulder with Joe Biden to pass some of the most transformational legislation that we have seen in the last few decades to bring America out of the darkness and despair of COVID, to help rebuild our relationships overbroad so that people respected America again, to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. And she happens to be a woman and she happens to be a black and Asian-American descent. But it is groundbreaking, because like I said, people will get an opportunity to see who she is and many people will get an opportunity to see themselves in her. And that’s the most amazing thing. This is a historic moment. And you know, this picture that I’ve been painting for folks all week at this Democratic Convention was this image — because again, we’re a future thinking party, this image of January 20, 2025 on the steps of the United States Capitol, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson standing there, holding the bible of Frederick Douglass, and Kamala Harris stepping out, putting her hand on that bible and taking a pledge to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. They’re standing on the steps of a building built by the hands of slaves. That is what America can do. I mean, it just gives me chills just thinking about it time and time again. That is what America can do in this election. It’s all within our power, and we will do that. And we will rejoice in the joy of our ancestors as we move forward with that.

ISAACSON: Jaime Harrison, thank you so much for joining us.

HARRISON: Thank you so much for having me.