Controversial Remarks by Senator JD Vance
During his recent campaign efforts, Senator JD Vance of Ohio labeled Vice President Kamala Harris a “phony,” claiming she “grew up in Canada.” This statement came amid a backdrop of ongoing rhetoric from former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, who has been raising unfounded and provocative questions regarding the racial identity of the presumed Democratic nominee.
At a campaign stop in Arizona on Wednesday, Mr. Vance remarked, “Kamala Harris grew up in Canada. They don’t talk like that in Vancouver or Quebec or wherever she came from.” However, it is important to clarify that Ms. Harris did indeed move to Montreal as a twelve-year-old in 1976, accompanied by her sister. This relocation was prompted by their mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who was recruited to conduct breast-cancer research at Jewish General Hospital and to teach at the medical school of McGill University.
Over the subsequent five years, Kamala Harris frequently traveled between Quebec’s largest city and California, spending time with her father, Donald J. Harris, an economist at Stanford University, as well as with a family friend during holidays and vacations.
In her memoir, Ms. Harris reflects on this period of her life, describing it as a time filled with a deep sense of longing for California. Her campaign, however, declined to provide any comments regarding her experiences in Canada.
In her own words, she expressed, “I’d gotten used to most of it,” referring to her adaptation to life in a predominantly French-speaking city characterized by harsh winters, far from her familial roots. “What I hadn’t got used to was the feeling of being homesick for my country. I felt this constant sense of yearning to be back home.”
