Kamala Harris’ rise through the political ranks is under renewed focus in the wake of Joe Biden suspending his reelection campaign and endorsing her for president.
An area of particular interest is her romantic relationship with powerful California politician Willie Brown. The pair dated in the early 1990s when Brown was speaker of the California Assembly and Harris was a county prosecutor.
While the internet has deemed the relationship off limits, Megyn believes it is “fair game” and important to understanding Harris’ career. On Tuesday’s show, she was joined by Charlie Spiering, author of Amateur Hour, to discuss the history between Brown and Harris and why it needs to be discussed.
The Controversy
The Democratic Party has lined up to support Harris as Biden’s replacement at the top of the 2024 ticket, which means the vice president is about to find herself, her record, and her past in the spotlight for the next 100 days.
One such piece of her past is her relationship with Brown, which is already causing quite a stir. “It is fair game to go back and talk about her behavior in her ascent into politics… and I will not be shamed out of discussing this by people who say it is slut shaming or it’s not relevant,” Megyn said. “It is relevant when a young candidate tries to sleep her way into politics… and that is what it appears Kamala Harris did when she was a young political aspirant in San Francisco and she had an affair with a man 30 years older than she was.”
As Megyn explained, Harris was 30 years old and a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office when she became linked to the then-60-year-old Brown. “He is like the godfather of San Francisco politics and very well known,” she noted. “And sure enough, that relationship paid dividends for Harris in more ways than one.”
The Relationship
Spiering, whose book offers a deep dive into Harris’ rocky tenure as vice president, agreed that the relationship between Harris and Brown is “completely fair game” to talk about because “it is how Kamala Harris went from a relatively unknown Alameda County prosecutor to the forefront of San Francisco social life and politics.”
As he explained, Brown was “the most powerful politician in California” when the two started dating. He was married at the time but reports indicate that he and his wife were separated. “He also gave [Harris] a number of positions… that paid her lucratively,” he said. “He gave her the keys to a BMW, and he went around the most powerful and most wealthy circles of San Francisco and California politics with her on his arm, opening up the doors to her professional and political future.”
In a 2019 op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle titled “Willie Brown: Sure, I Dated Kamala Harris. So What?“, Brown acknowledged that he “may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker.” And Megyn pointed out that he is also on the record saying he helped her get elected to her position as district attorney of San Francisco.
While what ended their relationship remains unknown, Spiering noted that it coincided with Brown winning the 1996 San Francisco mayor’s race. “As soon as he ran and won the San Francisco mayoral election, he broke up with Kamala,” he explained. “Kamala was there for the victory party, but, by the time the inauguration hit, his estranged wife reappeared to be holding the Bible while he took the oath of office and Kamala was kind of pushed aside.”
Even so, when Harris ran for San Francisco DA in 2004, Spiering said Brown played a role in her campaign. “He was there quietly nudging all of his wealthy donors and powerful connections to help her out,” he explained. “So, Willie Brown was definitely there behind the scenes, but Kamala Harris did as much as she could before the election to distance herself from [him].”
Spiering said that distancing included a magazine interview in which she, in his words, was “throwing [Brown] under the bus” and saying his career was over. “It sounds really familiar to what happened last weekend with [Joe Biden],” he added.
After six years as district attorney, Harris became attorney general of California. She served two terms before running for U.S. Senate in 2016 to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer. She won and remained in the role until she was tapped to be Biden’s 2020 running mate after her own failed presidential run. At the time, Brown called Harris’ decision to accept the VP role a mistake.
The Race for the White House
With her sights now once again set on the White House, Harris is attempting to shed the notion that her awkwardness is a turnoff to voters. But Spiering said it all goes back to her time rising through the ranks of Golden State politics.
“A lot of it is a product of being a California politician because when you are a California Democrat, all you have to do is impress the donors, impress the political power brokers, and kind of show up and demand a seat at the table,” he said. “Willie Brown taught her how to do that. So, she did have some level of that with the top donors, but she never really connected with the California people.”
Given that Harris has essentially been anointed the Democrat nominee without a single vote cast for her, Spiering said history may be repeating itself for Harris. “You don’t necessarily need to convince voters,” he concluded. “You just need to convince the Democratic Party and everything will fall in line for you pretty well.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Spiering by tuning in to episode 845 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.