Who is Kamala Harris' father? VP reflects on how her Marxist economist dad shaped her life in DNC speech

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: During the final day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a powerful speech, formally accepting the Democratic nomination for president.

Throughout her address, Kamala extensively discussed her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, emphasizing the profound influence she had on her life and career, while briefly mentioning her father, Donald Harris, a notable Marxist economist, as per the New York Post.

Donald Harris is a distinguished economist who has contributed significantly to Marxist theory

Kamala described her mother as a "five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent" who immigrated to the United States from India at the age of 19.

Shyamala's resilience and determination were central to Kamala's story, especially in how she and her sister, Maya Harris, were raised to actively stand against injustice.

Kamala also reflected on the influence of her father, Donald, in her upbringing. She shared cherished memories from her early childhood, recalling how he encouraged her to be fearless.

"At the park, my mother would say, 'Stay close.' But my father would say, as he smiled, 'Run, Kamala, run. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let anything stop you.' From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless," Kamala reminisced.

However, the story of Kamala's relationship with her father is more complex than the brief mentions in her DNC speech might suggest.

Donald, a renowned Marxist economist, has been largely absent from his daughter's political life and the recent convention itself, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by observers and the public alike.

Donald, born in Jamaica, immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education. He completed his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met Shyamala, who was studying biochemistry.

The couple married and had two daughters, Kamala and Maya, before eventually divorcing while Kamala was still in elementary school.

After the divorce, Kamala and Maya were primarily raised by their mother. However, Donald remained involved in their lives, especially on weekends and during summers, as Kamala detailed in her 2019 memoir.

Donald is a distinguished post-Keynesian economist who has contributed significantly to Marxist theory, according to USA Today.

His academic career includes a long tenure at Stanford University, where he served as a professor of economics. Beyond his work in the United States, Donald has also been an economic advisor to the government of Jamaica.

Donald's ideological beliefs were brought into sharp focus in 2019 when he publicly criticized a comment Kamala made during an interview about whether she had ever smoked marijuana.

Kamala had joked, "Half my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?" This comment did not sit well with her father, who issued a statement to Jamaica Global Online expressing his dismay.

He stated that his grandmothers and parents "must be turning in their grave right now" at the notion of their Jamaican identity being linked to "the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker."

Donald Harris' absence from the DNC sparks flurry of reactions online

The absence of Donald Harris from the DNC did not go unnoticed by the public and sparked a flurry of reactions on social media.

One user remarked, "Kamala's father Donald Harris is a marxist philosopher. Imagine watching your daughter bloated by corporate dollars selling racial capitalism. His absence at the DNC makes sense." [sic]

Another said, "Donald Harris is a Marxist economist who is a vocal critic of capitalism/imperialism/colonialism. It’s not unfathomable that he would intentionally distance himself from the campaign of a capitalist Zionist daughter whose greatest ambition is to be the face of the imperial core."

"I don't think it's weird that the DNC is highlighting Kamala Harris's late mother, who indeed was an impressive cancer researcher. But it's incredibly odd that there has been not one mention of her father, the economist who is...still alive and apparently practicing in Jamaica," wrote one person.

Another added, "He may be out of her daily life, but he's all up in her philosophy."

"Since her father is a communist, they kept him from attending because they don't want the people to know she might also be fond of that idealogy," wrote one individual.

One person wrote, "Good for him. It must have been very hurtful to hear his daughter disparage her Jamaican ancestry to appear 'cool.'" Another pointed out, "Pretty sure Kamala does not want her Communist father to muck up her chances of victory."

One netizen stated, "Even her black dad doesn't like her otherwise he would have definitely been at the DNC."

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