Long before Kamala Harris was running to be president of the United States, Mark Buell noticed that she had a certain anxious tic. “[Harris] is very funny. She has a very good sense of humour, and when she enjoys herself, she has a very hearty laugh,” recalls the San Francisco real estate developer and Democratic donor, who was one of Harris’s earliest political patrons, in an interview with The Independent.
But back then, he says, when she was nervous “that laugh became more prominent... so between the two, it would show up sometimes at inappropriate times”.
Two decades later, Donald Trump and other conservatives are trying to use Harris’s distinctive and frequent peals of wholebody laughter as an attack line, with the former president even adding “Laughing Kamala” to his notorious roster of nicknames. “You ever watch her laugh? [...] You can tell a lot by a laugh. She’s crazy. She’s nuts,” Mr Trump said at a rally in Michigan last month.
According to Mr Buell, that is no coincidence. He believes someone tipped Mr Trump or his team off about Ms Harris’s old habit, and – “in keeping with Mr Trump’s approach to politics, looking for weaknesses and faults in people” – he went after it.
Yet old friends and allies claim that Ms Harris’s sense of humour is one of her most appealing characteristics, and a sign of her genuine willingness to connect with other people emotionally. Indeed, on TikTok Ms Harris’s laughter has become one of the most-memed sounds of the 2024 election, endlessly and affectionately remixed by superfans, comedians, and dance musicians.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 12, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 12, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Carse justifies England faith as the archetypal bold pick
If you won a boxing match after your opponent continually punched themselves in the face, how much credit can you take?
Tenacious Diallo the key to Amorim pressing machine
Old Trafford has not seen anything like this before.
Gold King Cole packs the Bridge with merry old souls
In the 83rd minute, the ball rolled to the feet of Cole Palmer in a bubble of space outside Aston Villa's box, and the crowd snapped to attention.
Vibrant Anfield marks the changing of the Guardiola
There was a lull in the noise, a break in the Anfield atmosphere, when a defiant chant emerged from a corner near Stefan Ortega’s goal.
What is so daunting about Spain's new data checks?
Q You have written about the new “red tape” for visitors to Spain. So, as well as your usual passport details you will give a contact number, address and email. Not exactly the Spanish Inquisition, is it?
Sectarian clashes claim at least 130 lives in Pakistan
At least 130 people were killed in deadly sectarian clashes in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire, days after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shia Muslims, local officials said.
Coalition government likely in Ireland as count proceeds
Fianna Fail say decisions on power-sharing for another day’
How Syria's forgotten war is back on the world's agenda
Many believed the country was lost in an unsolvable conflict, until everything changed in a matter of days, writes Bel Trew
Assad regime scrambles to halt Syrian rebels’ advance
Civilians reportedly killed by Russian and Syrian airstrikes
Mother of poisoning victim says she knew she would die
Lawyer Simone White succumbed to the effects of methanol while backpacking in Laos with two of her childhood friends
