Politics

Kamala Harris’ birthday is shattering stereotypes — and making Trump seem even older

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2024

Kamala Harris’ birthday is shattering stereotypes — and making Trump seem even older

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris turns 60. And the best years of her professional life are likely still ahead of her.

By presidential standards, of course, 60 is downright youthful. Harris’ current boss is 81. Her Republican opponent is 78. Both have fallen under intense scrutiny, with Donald Trump’s apparent cognitive decline casting an increasingly dark shadow over the election.

Compared to these much older men, Harris’ relative youth is palpable — even as she demonstrates the wisdom and pride that comes with age. As she celebrates on Sunday, Harris is actively shattering worn-out stereotypes about what 60 should look or feel like.

As she celebrates on Sunday, Harris is actively shattering worn-out stereotypes about what 60 should look or feel like.

I’ve scrutinized Harris’ campaign rallies and her September debate with Trump. It is very clear to me why he has refused to step back onstage with her.

For a moment there, right before their first (and only) debate began, I was worried. How would she hold up under the sometimes-cruel scrutiny presidential candidates typically experience? But almost immediately, my worries melted away. She owned that New York stage. Not just with her answers and her abilities — but with her posture, her joy, her eloquence and her control. Seeing Harris under those bright lights was inspiring — for women, and for anyone who has felt underestimated or marginalized.

She was magnificent. And that’s exactly what 60 means for women today: magnificence.

Indeed, Harris’ pride — in both her accomplishments and her experience — is clear whenever she steps up in public.

There’s no doubt that women over 50 face stigma and challenges associated with their age — especially in the workplace. According to a 2022 AARP survey , ageism is the most frequently reported type of discrimination among women 50 and older. This problem is even worse for women of color, with Black women over 50 reporting the highest levels of discrimination, according to the AARP, “with 70% saying they experience discrimination regularly.”

It’s a type of bias that, frankly, men don’t see as often. And it’s one more barrier many women face as they navigate their professional careers while also serving as mothers and caregivers.

Despite the importance of older women in the workplace, an analysis this year from the Center for American Progress suggests many women face professional headwinds as they age:

Median earnings for full-time women are highest among those in their early- to mid-40s and fall substantially at older ages: Women in their mid- to late-50s have earnings 5.6 percent lower than peak mid-career levels, and in their early- to mid-60s, women’s earnings are 8.0 percent below peak. By contrast, men’s earnings peak later—in the mid- to late-40s—and remain at that peak level for men about a decade older. When men’s earnings eventually begin to decline with age, they do so much more slowly.

Center for American Progress

But when I see Harris onstage, I don’t see someone “old.” I see someone fabulous. I see someone accomplished. I see someone capable of becoming America’s first woman president.

I’m 57 years old; 60 is right around the corner. But Harris has made me excited about the milestone. I thought my career was going to be over at 40. And here comes the Democratic nominee, showing all of us why the best really can be ahead of us. There is still time to do your best work, to get the promotion of a lifetime, or to fulfill your biggest, brightest dreams.

In 2021, when my women’s empowerment platform, Know Your Value, partnered with Forbes to publish our first ever “50 Over 50” list, Harris — alongside television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, founder Julie Wainwright and investor Cathie Wood — headlined our inaugural edition. Flash forward to today, and as the Democratic nominee, Harris is seen as the “younger,” fresher contender. Imagine that.

Women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond deserve to be valued. They deserve to be recognized. And lists like “50 Over 50” are a reminder that impact has no age limit. Women don’t have to peak before menopause. Men certainly don’t. Seeing Harris turn 60 on the campaign trail during the election of our lifetimes feels, frankly, fitting.

I have so many women role models who are 60 and over: Hillary Clinton, Claire McCaskill, Jill Biden, my mom. Emilie Benes Brzezinski was a sculptor who pursued her art with a chainsaw in hand until she was in her 90s.

In other words, getting older no longer feels like a barrier, but rather an asset.

So enjoy your birthday, Madame Vice President. You deserve it.

Mika Brzezinski

Mika Brzezinski is the co-host of BLN’s Morning Joe, founder of “Know Your Value” and author of four best-selling books, including “EARN IT!: Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in Your 20s and Beyond” (Hachette Books; May 7, 2019) with co-author Daniela Pierre-Bravo. Prior to joining BLN in 2007, Mika was an anchor of CBS Evening News Weekend Edition and a CBS News correspondent who frequently contributed to CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes.

Politics

Trump invites battleground Republicans to Rose Garden dinner

Published

8 hours ago

September 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump has invited a group of GOP lawmakers including Republicans in competitive races to dine with him Wednesday night at the White House as many in the party press the president to unleash his massive war chest ahead of the November elections, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The White House plans to hold the dinner in the Rose Garden, according to two of the people who know about the invitation. The people were granted anonymity to discuss private planning. Some House Republicans in tough races were sent invitations, including Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) and Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), who are planning to attend, along with a wider group of GOP lawmakers and senators.

“Of course,” Van Orden said when asked if he would go to the dinner.

The White House invited at least several dozen lawmakers, according to two people familiar with the invitation list. The dinner also comes ahead of next week’s GOP midterm convention in Dallas, though attendance from Republican lawmakers is expected to be mixed. Barrett, for example, said in an interview Tuesday he is not planning to attend the convention and will instead campaign and spend time with his family. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s political operation, MAGA Inc., has spent little of its $400 million war chest to help GOP lawmakers. But he recently helped boost Sen. Darline Graham over the line in her heated primary.

Senate Republicans are eager for him to start spending for Ken Paxton in Texas as he has thus far been outspent on the airwaves by Democrat James Talarico and his allies.

Politics

Susan Collins on Trump, tariffs and her fight for Maine

Published

13 hours ago

September 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Susan Collins on Trump, tariffs and her fight for Maine

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Politics

JD Vance courts Jewish Republicans. Tucker Carlson still looms.

Published

21 hours ago

September 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

LAS VEGAS — Vice President JD Vance tried to make inroads with Jewish Republicans. Not everyone is sold.

Vance’s closed-door speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit Monday night went a long way in alleviating top pro-Israel donors’ concerns about his support for the U.S.-Israeli relationship, and it cemented their view that Vance would be a preferable choice to whomever the Democratic Party nominee is in 2028.

But some attendees still have questions for Vance — particularly around his relationship with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who has long drawn ire from the Republican Jewish leaders for his criticism of Israel and outraged many when he hosted the antisemite Nick Fuentes for a lengthy podcast interview last year.

“He allayed a lot of concern, but he failed to address his relationship with Tucker Carlson, and that left a lot of people wondering why,” said Josh Katzen, a real estate developer and member of the RJC board, speaking in his personal capacity.

Vance, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2028, has long faced skepticism from Jewish Republicans who question his commitment to the U.S.-Israeli relationship and his response to antisemitism within the GOP. In his speech Monday, he took both issues head-on, and largely appeased the skeptical crowd with his answers, declaring that “Jew-hatred is corrosive to the soul” and saying Republicans need to articulate to young Americans why an alliance with Israel is in the best interest of the U.S.

But his meandering response to a question about Carlson and other podcasters left some in attendance yearning for more.

“A few names: Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Joe Rogan, Nick Fuentes. They have platformed antisemites,” former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), the RJC’s board chair, asked Vance. “How do you draw the line, in terms of … the platforms that you appear on?

“I recognize a lot of people in this room may disagree with things that Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly or Joe Rogan have said,” Vance said, before pivoting to discuss Rogan and Fuentes, saying those are “two very, very different categories of people” and suggesting people like Rogan should be reasoned with, even when there are disagreements.

The answer was not sufficient to some, who wonder about his longtime relationship with Carlson. Vance was a regular on Carlson’s Fox News show and creditedCarlson for helping carry him to victory in his 2022 U.S. Senate primary in Ohio. In 2024, Carlson pushed for Trump to pick Vance as his running mate.

“JD Vance allying himself with an individual who has called for Trump’s immediate removal from office will make it harder for many of us Jewish conservatives to consider his candidacy,” said Shabbos Kestenbaum, a pro-Israel campus activist who spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2024 and spoke at last year’s RJC conference. “We hope this issue is resolved quickly so we can focus on policy, not personality.”

Eric Levine, a major GOP donor and member of the RJC board, said Vance could’ve had “an incredible Sister Souljah moment” if he took on Carlson.

“In my view, on the issue of Jews and Israel, there is no difference between Hasan Piker, Zohran Mamdani, Abdul El-Sayed and the DSA writ large on the one hand and Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Marjorie Taylor Green and neo-Nazis on the other hand,” said Levine, speaking in his personal capacity. “That is why I wish the vice president had unambiguously separated himself and condemned Tucker by name.”

Conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg also wasn’t satisfied. Just hours after urging RJC attendees in a speech onstage to “give Vance a chance,” he was critical of how Vance handled that opportunity.

“He had a chance to hammer @TuckerCarlson and @megynkelly but instead spent all his time defending @joerogan over Nick Fuentes,” Rosenberg wrote on X. “Look, he’s still better than any Democrat candidate but I don’t think he wowed the STRONG Jews in the room tonight.”

Carlson, in a text message, said, “An organization that promotes and defends genocide is continuing to insist that they’re the real victims? I can’t imagine who buys this nonsense anymore.”

Human rights groups have accused Israel of genocide over its conduct in the war in Gaza, which the country’s leaders vehemently deny. Vance’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

An individual close to Vance, granted anonymity to describe sentiment within the vice president’s orbit, said there was no illusion Vance would win over every person in attendance, “or that every single person would love every single answer.”

“The goal was to lower the temperature, extend an olive branch, and make clear that the vice president is an ally, not an enemy,” the person said, arguing that goal was “achieved.”

Sam Markstein, spokesperson for the RJC, emphasized that the organization is a coalition.

“There will always be many opinions within the organization,” Markstein said. “In an hour when too many public figures are walking away from the Jewish community and the U.S.-Israel relationship, the Republican Jewish Coalition will always stand with the leaders who show up. Vice President JD Vance shows up — and received multiple standing ovations with thunderous applause.”

Vance, who was elected to the Senate in 2022, faces a fundamental disadvantage among potential Republican 2028ers: He’s still a relative newcomer to the Republican political scene.

Others, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have developed relationships with pro-Israel Republicans in both the Jewish and evangelical Christian communities for years, going well back before their respective 2016 presidential runs. Rubio has pushed to revoke visas from individuals accused of promoting antisemitism or supporting terrorism. Cruz has publicly sparred with Carlson, criticizing him of antisemitism. A Cruz-aligned nonprofit recently launched to take on right-wing antisemitism.

Vance’s speech was his first at an RJC leadership summit, though he attended in 2022. It was the first time since 2019 a sitting president or vice president attended the conference, which draws some of the country’s most influential Republican donors.

Not being a favorite among RJC leaders wasn’t an impediment to Donald Trump’s political outsider 2016 presidential bid. During that campaign, he was accused of invoking antisemitic stereotypes during a speech to the RJC and in a social media post. But upon taking office, he formed a strong relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, culminating in the Abraham Accords and moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Speakers at the RJC’s two-day summit this week frequently referred to Trump as the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history.

But Rubio and Cruz have been fixtures at past iterations of the RJC’s annual leadership summit, and they maintain strong ties with the group’s leadership. (None have announced whether they’ll seek the presidential nomination, though Rubio has stated he will not run if Vance does.)

Many attendees said Rubio is still the favorite amongst the crowd.

“Every time Marco Rubio’s name is mentioned in this conference, there’s a spontaneous round of applause,” said Katzen, the RJC board member. Indeed, when Rosenberg urged attendees to welcome Vance in a speech Monday, he mentioned the hypothetical, “If Marco Rubio was here tonight—” and was drowned out by applause.

Should Rubio not run for the nomination against Vance, other observers think Cruz will have the inside lane among the RJC crowd.

“Ted Cruz is loved here, and he deserves to be loved here,” said Levine, prior to Vance’s speech. “Look, if it’s Cruz and Vance, I expect that this crowd would be 90 percent Cruz.”

Ari Fleischer, an RJC board member and a former White House press secretary, said Vance made inroads — but building a relationship with the pro-Israel community takes time.

“It’s fair to say hearts and minds are changing, but I think it’s also fair to say that when you come before the Republican Jewish Coalition, it’s like when you come to New Hampshire to campaign,” Fleischer said. “After the third or fourth time, we let you know how you’re doing.”