Dear NY Times: 23 Other Lesser-Known Facts About Kamala Harris — When You're Done Worshipping Her, Get the Answers from Her

By Chuck Warren

The New York Times recently published an article entitled, “23 Lesser-Known Facts About Kamala Harris.” It includes facts such as her name translating to “lotus flower,” her height, her love of Doritos, and her enjoyment of cooking. This is the kind of information that America’s newspaper of record believes voters desperately need before making up their minds about our next president.

I’d like to offer my own lesser-known facts about Harris. But unlike the New York Times, I don’t actually know the answers. These are such lesser-known facts that only Harris knows them.

1. Does Harris support fracking? When she first ran for president in 2019—some mistakenly refer to her 2020 presidential run, but she actually did so poorly that she dropped out in 2019—she opposed it. In the 2020 vice presidential debate, she stated, “Fracking will not stop under Joe Biden.” Now, she says her opinion remains the same as in the 2020 debate. That would mean fracking will not stop until January 20, when Biden leaves office, because she never said that she personally supports fracking. So, does she?

2. Does she support Medicare for All? When she first ran for president, she supported Medicare for All. Her surrogates say that she no longer does, but she has not publicly opposed it. Her most recent stance, from 2019, is that she supports abolishing private healthcare in exchange for Medicare for All.

3. Which court-packing system does she prefer? In 2019, Harris supported packing the Supreme Court with progressive jurists. Recently, Biden proposed a reform to force senior justices, all conservatives, into retirement while keeping the number at nine. This is a different approach to court-packing than simply increasing the number of justices. Her aides say that she supports this, but she has not stated so herself. What we know is that she supports court-packing. What we don’t know is how she plans to proceed with it.

4. Does she support an unrealized capital gains tax? If you don’t know what “unrealized capital gains tax” means, it’s because it’s a new, brilliant idea by Biden. Most American adults have stock market shares, and Biden wants to tax them even if they don’t sell them. At the end of the year, if Biden gets his way, Americans will have to pay taxes if the value of their stocks goes up, even if they don’t sell them. It’s a genius way if you’re intent on forcing a stock market crash. Harris says she supports Biden’s tax plan. Does she support this?

5. Will she let the Trump tax cuts expire? The 2017 Trump tax cuts are set to expire next year, meaning all income tax rates will revert to what they were in 2016. Harris voted against the tax cuts as a senator. She says she will allow the top rate to go back up, but she hasn’t said whether she will keep the rest. More importantly, what if Republicans insist on making all the 2017 cuts permanent and reject her plan? Will she then let all the tax cuts expire by not compromising, leading to higher rates for middle-class and poor Americans?

6. What’s her plan for the debt? For the first time during peacetime, the U.S. debt is larger than the GDP. This is a moral scandal, and no intelligent person believes that this can be fixed without reforming Medicare and Social Security. Does she think that the debt is an issue, and if so, what is her plan to fix it?

7. Does she still support abolishing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)? Harris was so outraged by Trump’s approach to illegal immigration that she advocated for abolishing ICE. Let that sink in for a second: A U.S. senator didn’t think we should protect our borders. Then she became the border czar under Biden, although we are told she wasn’t. Has she changed her mind on abolishing ICE?

8. Has she learned the difference between ICE and CBP? Then-Senator Harris advocated for abolishing ICE, despite the fact that CBP (Customs and Border Protection) is the agency in charge of enforcing border laws. Does she know which one is which now?

9. What did she tell Biden about the Afghanistan withdrawal? Harris boasted that she was the last person in the room with Biden before the president decided to end our involvement there. What followed was a humiliation. What did she advise Biden as his last adviser?

10. What does she think of the size of our military? A recent bipartisan commission has concluded that the United States is more endangered now than since World War II, while the U.S. military is the smallest it has been in decades. Harris says she supports a “lethal military force,” but she hasn’t specified whether that means a larger military. The same commission has also concluded that the United States needs to significantly increase defense spending, yet the administration Harris is currently part of has routinely requested budgets that fail to keep up with the inflation rate. As president, will she maintain the military at its current small size or enlarge it to meet global threats?

11. Does she support the current Biden policy on Ukraine? Since the war started 2.5 years ago, one thing has been consistent: Biden’s approach has been flawed. He has withheld weapons from Ukraine, fearing Russian escalation. But when he finally gave in each time, the Russians didn’t escalate. The latest act of cowardice is not allowing U.S. weapons to strike legitimate targets inside Russia. This has given Russia impunity to strike against Ukraine from within its own borders, killing innocent civilians. Ukraine has the weapons to neutralize these sites, but Biden isn’t allowing this. Even his own Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, believes that this is wrong. As president, will she lift these restrictions?

12. Will she continue to enrich Iran? Probably, since every Democrat seems to favor doing so. However, she has not taken a position on the enforcement of sanctions on Iran. Although these sanctions exist on paper, Biden isn’t enforcing them, and Iran’s revenue from oil exports has reached its peak, surpassing levels before Trump imposed the oil sanctions. As president, will Harris continue the Biden policy of de facto lifting of sanctions?

13. What does she make of China? China is the biggest threat to the United States. Forget about the details. We don’t even know what she thinks of China, let alone if she’d rush to Taiwan’s defense if war erupts.

14. Will she force Israel to end the war prematurely? There was a ceasefire agreement in place in January, which ended after Hamas violated it. Hamas has also rejected all recent ceasefire offers. Yet, Israel is receiving criticism from the left, including from Harris. If this continues into her administration, will she force Israel to end the war by withholding weapons because Hamas is refusing to agree?

15. Is Israel entitled to its security in the Philadelphi Corridor? October 7 would never have happened if Israel had controlled the Philadelphi Corridor, which connects Gaza to Egypt. All the weapons were smuggled through there, and Hamas operatives traveled to Iran for training using that route. It is now a source of dispute, and Israelis believe that they cannot abandon it again. As president, will she object to Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor?

16. What has she learned about Latin America? As “not the border czar,” the vice president was in charge of addressing the roots of immigration. This meant working with Central American governments, as well as Mexico. What will be her Latin America policy?

17. What has she learned about Latin America #2? The Americas are the most important part of the world to Americans. Mexico is our #1 trading partner, meaning that our prosperity depends more on Mexico than any other country. Mexico is also moving down an authoritarian path. Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are already lost to lefty dictators. Brazil’s administration is anti-American and friendly with China, Russia, and Iran. Colombia is turning from a friend to an antagonist. This is an economic problem, but also a security problem. China wants to have its military permanently in Latin America to threaten us. We don’t want another threat of Soviet missiles near our borders. What is she going to do to reverse the growing influence of our enemies in our backyard? Actually, forget about what she’s going to do about this. Is she even aware of this problem?

18. Does she support transgender athletes in women’s sports? Some say that this is not a federal issue, but the federal government funds universities and, under the law, is obliged to prevent discrimination against female athletes. Will her Department of Education enforce these laws to protect women’s collegiate sports?

19. Where does she stand on campus extremism? Reports are emerging about discrimination against Jewish students. In one case, medical staff on campus did not provide services to an Israeli student for hours. Administrators are being fired. This is a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Will her Department of Justice bring lawsuits against these universities, or will she continue to fund them with impunity?

20. Is she in favor of reparations for Black people? In 2019, Harris promised to appoint a commission to investigate reparations for Black people affected by slavery. As president, will she follow through on that promise? And if her commission concludes that Americans should pay reparations, will she implement it?

21. Does she support the home rule policy in D.C.? Washington has become an embarrassing mess. It is one thing for any U.S. city to be crime-ridden, but the nation’s capital, where foreign dignitaries visit most often, is increasingly resembling a third-world country. This is largely due to the corruption in its local politics resulting from the 1973 law called the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Lawmakers are now reconsidering the law. To address the current state of our capital, will Harris revoke the home rule policy and return governance to the federal government?

22. Does she support getting rid of the filibuster? Harris has said that she “can’t wait” to end the filibuster. If Democrats win the House and the Senate, this would allow for passing extremist bills along partisan lines. Will she support this? And if the Senate becomes divided 50–50, will she instruct her vice president to break the tie and kill it?

23. Last but not least, what will be her priority as president? All presidents want to do 50 different things, and they end up doing none of them well enough. As vice president, she has had a front-row seat to the limits of presidential ambitions. If she’s intelligent, she’ll know that she will be better off prioritizing a few things and doing them well. What will those few things be? Will she focus most on the economy, national security, social justice, climate change, or something else?

Only a few people know the answers to these questions. Only Kamala Harris knows the answers to some of them. And I wouldn’t be shocked if even she didn’t know the answers to some of them. Because the press isn’t holding her accountable for her campaign’s lack of substance, she is not forced to think about many issues or develop ideas about them. For the rest, whatever she makes of them, she doesn’t have to state her thoughts publicly.

I suppose that it’s okay that we know that she is short and likes Doritos. But how about these 23 lesser-known facts? It’d be good if we find out.

Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Chuck Warren only and not his co-host Sam Stone or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.