We made it!! We survived four years of the worst president in US history. So many did not survive, and the ripples of their absence and the grief of those they left will be felt for decades. So many of us suffered needlessly, losing livelihoods, family, and peace of mind under the tyranny of this dictator-wannabe and his disgusting enablers. But today is a new day and ushers in a new era in the US – and the world. The transition will be long, but it begins today. I am so happy and so grateful to be here to see it and to show my kids, two weeks after we watched in horror an insurrection in our nation’s capitol, that there’s still reason to hope and to feel proud of our country. Congratulations, everyone!
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Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 9:56 am
And if you missed it, this breakdown by Rachel Maddow of Trump’s term and the damage he wrought is a must-see:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-worst-president-in-american-history-trump-term-ends-under-a-cloud-in-calamity-99711557727
LisforLeslie January 20, 2021, 10:04 am
My emotional state is in such conflict. I have such a sense of relief and at the same time a sense of absolute dread that the hellscape unleashed by Orange Julius Caesar is far from tamped down and that we will be dealing with this for years to come. And we only have 2 years in which Dems control house/senate/wh.
But at least there is hope and a president who can string four intelligent words together. If I never hear “tremendous” again, I’ll be happy.
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 10:15 am
Yeah, I sure do wish Trump were flying off into the sunset never to be heard from again. For today, I’ll be happy his grip on our nation is significantly loosened.
Vathena January 20, 2021, 10:26 am
I have such a feeling of profound relief. I know the inauguration isn’t over yet so I won’t really relax until they are safely in the White House, but ahhhhh. There is much work yet to be done, but today I am going to feel GOOD!!!
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 10:38 am
I have a friend who won’t watch or let her kids watch the inauguration live bc she’s nervous, which I totally understand. But I’m taking my chances.
Kate January 20, 2021, 10:50 am
Do you remember being scarred for life by watching the Challenger explosion at school?
If I had kids I’d still let them watch this if they wanted, just have slight PTSD from 5th grade.
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 11:26 am
Yes, exactly. We watched some of the insurrection and I told the kids how they will remember seeing it on tv like I remember seeing the challenger explosion.
Kate January 20, 2021, 11:26 am
Actually you were probably overseas so you didn’t watch it live, but we did in the classroom, and it was super special because this was NH and Krista McCauliffe was a teacher from NH.
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 12:06 pm
I did watch it live but it was the next morning in Tokyo, where I lived at the time, and we watched on the American forces tv network we had as we got ready for school and work. I was in 4th grade, same as Jackson is now.
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 12:08 pm
Actually, funny how memory works. It could not have been live as it was like 1 am in Japan. I must have watched a replay when we woke up.
Kate January 20, 2021, 11:29 am
*Christa
Vathena January 20, 2021, 2:20 pm
I was a little worried, even though I know the city has been super locked down. I knew the bridges into DC were closed, but I didn’t think about what that actually looked like until I was driving in to work yesterday afternoon (from Alexandria, VA to Bethesda, MD along the Potomac on the Virginia side). Seeing dozens of police cars with flashing lights lined up across the bridges, and heavy trucks blocking all the ramps, was a bit jarring! But we watched it, my kid actually paid attention for most of it, and OMG SWEET RELIEF!! A grown-up is in charge of the nuclear football and we can all sleep a little better tonight. And wake up in the morning not panicking about what evil fuckery has been done by our chief executive.
Kate January 20, 2021, 10:31 am
I cried last night when they had that memorial ceremony at the reflecting pool or wherever. The last 4 years were such a nightmare, and just to have someone acknowledging the dead and being respectful and compassionate…
It really was like an abusive relationship.
Dear Wendy January 20, 2021, 10:37 am
?
LisforLeslie January 20, 2021, 10:42 am
That’s an interesting take and as I think about it – it was like being a kid with an abusive parent and all the adults in your life were looking the other way and gaslighting you.
ktfran January 20, 2021, 11:41 am
I’m not crying. You’re crying!
I loved Lady Gaga singing the national anthem years ago at the Super Bowl and I loved it today.
Also, KAMALA!!!!!!!! Now I’m really crying.
Kate January 20, 2021, 12:04 pm
Gaga NAILED it with “the flag was still there.” Gave me chills. JLo’s singing was beautiful too.
Bittergaymark January 20, 2021, 12:08 pm
It WAS rather nice to see Lady Gaga cribbing looks from Carrie Fisher rather than Madonna. (For once.). 😉
ktfran January 20, 2021, 12:16 pm
She was great too! I’m not sad about any of the musicians performing.
ktfran January 20, 2021, 9:11 pm
Well mother effer. David Grohl almost made me cry again. That’s my mood.
Guy Friday January 21, 2021, 12:15 pm
It legitimately took me a minute of confusion where I went “Wait, did I miss a speech” before I realized you were talking about Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. 🙂
ktfran January 21, 2021, 1:28 pm
Lol. Sorry. I liked his tribute to teachers and his mom. I was sentimental last night.
Bittergaymark January 20, 2021, 11:55 am
I awoke to RAIN in the desert which is hilarious in that I drove out here largely to water the yard. Anyway, a lovely sound. I awoke in the night to it on the roof several times and it was simply divine. It has NOT rained here since last spring, I think which is INSANE. The yard looks damn good anyway. Cacti are hardy. Heck, I have not been here for over six weeks… as the last rental was that long.
As happy as I am that Trump is gone, I do remain bummed he literally wasn’t dragged kicking and screaming from the White House like the twit he truly is. That would have been hilarious and at this point we can all really use a good laugh, no?
LisforLeslie January 20, 2021, 12:44 pm
I would have loved to see Joe and Jill dropping off boxes to the curb on the left of Pennsylvania Ave.
LisforLeslie January 20, 2021, 1:56 pm
The news is on and Lester Holt just said “Vice President Harris” and it was like music. Sweet sweet notes.
ron January 20, 2021, 5:11 pm
America’s dark nightmare finally comes to an end.
ktfran January 20, 2021, 5:25 pm
It’s far from over. This quote from Ibram X. Kendi sums it up:
“He’s gone. And now, it is up to us to drive out what he represents. He is lies and bigotry and injustice and tyranny embodied–and the work is only beginning to drive him out of our body politic.
Joy, today.
Resolve, tomorrow.”
Kate January 20, 2021, 8:18 pm
Yeah, agree, Ron I hope you don’t really think that Trumpism and all that racist ugliness has come to an end. It’s always going to be here, but I do feel so much better with compassionate, responsible, moral, respectful, and professional people in charge who won’t encourage that shit. And the country is just going to keep getting more diverse and less white. And people have seen that their votes matter. God bless Stacey Abrams.
ktfran January 20, 2021, 8:28 pm
Yes, I definitely feel hopeful again. The first press briefing felt sane, normal and cooperative. Biden’s address felt good.
I want to celebrate today. I don’t think we should be idle tomorrow. There’s a lot of work to be done.
ron January 20, 2021, 8:58 pm
We wake up from a nightmare into the real world, not into any sort of ideal utopia. Our nation has many problems; the ardent Trump supporters are one of the major problems. But, even without that, we still have the pandemic which will kill at least another 100,000 of us — probably twice that many, we still have extreme income inequality; we still have individual and societal racism, sexism, and homophobia; we still have not exactly state of the art for the modern world economy and infrastructure; we still have many international problems; the Earth is still warming, with the permafrost and arctic ice melting. We’ve had most of the problems for a long time. Every nation, people, and generation have always faced severe problems.
But… we now have a leader who is willing to be honest with us, to use science and data, to try to tackle all of these problems, rather than hiding from them. That gives hope of things trending to the positive, rather than constantly getting worse.
Yes, there are a lot of Trumpists left, although some have seen the light. The Confederacy never truly disappeared, nor have the evangelical whites ever accepted the reality of social and demographic change.
LisforLeslie January 21, 2021, 8:08 am
As noted above, two emotions are pulling at me, relief and dread. I watched the inauguration special. For anyone who didn’t watch, we were hit over the head with the repeated “peaceful transition of power” and “we’re normal again folks” messages, Nonetheless, when John Legend sang “New Day” I felt the tension in my shoulders ease a bit. But just a little bit.
And Demi Lovato did “Lovely Day” justice.
ktfran January 21, 2021, 9:26 am
I don’t think we’re really waking up from a nightmare though. It’s ongoing. There are still people who believe the election was fraudulent. There wasn’t a “peaceful transfer of power” as some want to believe. Sure, yesterday was cathartic and hopeful. But there was and is no peace. Trump amplified what was already there. That hate is still there.
You’re telling me things I already know Ron. And while I understand what you’re saying, until their is justice and until those that are in or were in power are held accountable, the nation can’t heal. There has to be consequences. Biden saying “let’s work together” isn’t enough because we haven’t worked together long before Trump.
As an aside, let’s not forget that the Supreme Court is majority conservative. The attack on women’s reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights is going to be amplified.
As I said, yesterday was great. I did feel hope. However, I think there is a long, hard fight ahead of us.
ron January 21, 2021, 6:32 pm
Ktfran: The truth is that there always has been and, unfortunately, will be a long hard fight ahead of us in the fight to achieve equal rights for all in a reality-based world. Progress has always been two steps forward, followed by generally a step back — sometimes a lot more than one step back. The arc of our history remains an uneven, zigzag pointed toward equality. In WW II, we moved innocent Japanese men, women, and children into what were basically concentration camps (not death camps as in Nazi Germany) causing them to lose their jobs, businesses and on-going educations and careers in arts, science and laws. The military which defeated the Axis Powers was segregated.
The progress since then, progress in my lifetime, is what makes me optimistic. I don’t expect more in the next 4 years beyond undoing the Trump damage, returning to the Obama era, and making a bit more progress, like a federal law protecting LGBTQ rights generally and permanent protection and citizenship for the Dreamers, perhaps a full-blown solution legalizing all of the long-term undocumented immigrants and making a permanent return to refugee quotas, so that the next president can’t eliminate them. It would be very positive to have a global warming initiative with teeth approved and ratified by the Senate, although I don’t see that happening.
You won’t eliminate Trumpists or haters in general, but their numbers have begun to fall. Trump did a lot of damage. The Supreme Court is for a generation, but Congress and the states can limit the damage.
ktfran January 23, 2021, 7:57 am
Sure. A few people “have seen the light.” Being complacent is what got us here in the first place.
We barely have the majority in the Senate and we lost house seats. So yes, people voted Trump out because he was that bad. But they still want Republican policies. Do you honestly think that this Senate will pass a law for LGBTQ+? Obama was lucky in that he had a few more Senators on his side.
And I strongly believe that until people are publicly held accountable, including Trump, Hawley and Cruz, that the extreme hate will be here for a while. It doesn’t have a voice in the White House. It’s here. It was awoken by Trump. Biden preaching unity isn’t going to magically put it to sleep.
So no, the nightmare, at least for me, isn’t over. It may be subdued. But not over.
Kate January 23, 2021, 8:26 am
Ron, your personal narrative of converted Trump supporters is so old. For more than 4 years you’ve done anything to avoid saying Trump voters are racist. First they were just economically insecure coal miners who didn’t hear what they needed from Hillary. Then they were Obama switchers, so they couldn’t be racist. Now for several months it’s been, they’ve seen the light. While any of those may be true for a relative handful of people, we’ve got over 70 million fucking racist and misogynistic assholes (yes, the women too!) who, guess what, are now being brainwashed in even larger numbers by the Big Lie, by QAnon mommy and wellness influencers (Gen Z and millennial) on Instagram, organizing into militias, getting elected to Congress and bringing guns. Because they’re ALL fucking racist and stupid. The Capitol is being defended by thousands of armed military because these people want to get in there and mass-execute the government. A guy one town over from me RAN OVER and dragged and killed a Black man this past week. When you keep insisting these people have seen the light, you sound like one of them. BGM sounds like one of them when he rips apart Kamala Harris out of literally nowhere and compares her to White Savior Lady Singer from the 1900s. Stop it. It’s bullshit.
ktfran January 23, 2021, 2:34 pm
I truly wish things could be all gung ho now. But they can’t. They aren’t. Too much has happened. And to believe things are going to be fine means that people are going to go about their lives like the last years were an anomaly. They weren’t. And that’s why I’m fighting so hard against the false narrative that the nightmare is over. We have to fight every day for our democracy. Because guess what, as bad as Trump was, the Republican party is ripe for someone more dangerous, someone who can cause as much damage but do so more under the radar. Gerrymandering and the electoral college can make that happen.
I had my day of relief and joy on the 20th. Now I’m ready to work.
ron January 23, 2021, 6:44 pm
Of course a very large number of Trump supporters are racists or misogynists or anti-Semites or all three. They will never vote for even a centrist Dem. They are outside the possibility of being influenced. Elections are won at the margins and by turnout. Not the average Trump supporter, the weaker Trump supporters who were disgusted/converted and voted Biden turned the election. Both sides did phenomenally on turn out and without that effort on Dem side we would have been sunk, but we needed the votes of Rs and of some Ds who had voted Trump in 2016.
Our prior, way back discussion, was my comments on statements I viewed as folly, such as ‘nobody who voted for Trump in 2016 should be recruited or ever allowed back into polite society.
The truth of this past election is that Trump did worse, percentage-wise, among just about every group except suburbanites (largely Republican women), over 65s, and overall among whites. Trump even upped his % among LGBTQ, in addition to blacks and Hispanics. Without the persuadable whites who voted for Trump in 2016, many of whom voted Obama previously, but spun the wheel again in hope of economic change, Trump gets a second term.
How do you explain voters who voted Obama twice, and then voted Trump? How to explain Dems who voted Bernie in the 2016 primary and then voted Trump? Sure, some absolutely hated Clinton, but I think more to it than that. Bernie and Trump were both ‘shake the system to its core’ candidates.
And Kate, no I don’t think all of the racist ugliness has come to an end. It’s been here since before the colonies gained independence. But… it is a HUGE difference not to have these people running the nation. The difference between them running things and being more in the background is just a few $ of the electorate. This was a HUGE victory
Kate January 23, 2021, 8:01 pm
Ron, I don’t even know if these people you keep mentioning even exist. What I do know is thousands more people voted for Trump in 2020 than 2016 and most of them were white. I honestly don’t give a shit at all if they voted for Obama and then for Trump. Who cares, they still voted for Trump and signed on for white supremacy. I don’t give a fuck if they liked Bernie. Some of Bernie’s supporters are toxic assholes. WHO CARES? The fact is Trump got more votes after everyone had a no-excuses clear picture of what he wanted to do to America. It’s just getting worse now, with people having completely lost touch with reality and wanting to overthrow the government.
What saved us this time was BLACK turnout. Stacey Abrams. We would not have a senate majority without Georgia. Black people saved us, not your imaginary white converts.
Anyway, wake up. If anything is going to keep democracy alive, it’s 1) these idiots not voting because they believe we don’t have free elections, and 2) the country getting more diverse.
Kate January 23, 2021, 8:01 pm
* millions more, not thousands.
ktfran January 23, 2021, 9:42 pm
They’re still in leadership positions that shape out Country! Look at Congress, both House and Senate. Again, sure, Trump lost, but the House gained seats. GAINED. And we were lucky to win the Senate. Barely.
I mean, come on. Sure, Trump is out. We don’t have a clear win. And we certainly don’t have a clear directive to move forward from U.S. citizens.
ron January 24, 2021, 1:45 pm
ktfran —
That’s operating from a defeatist crouch. Biden won bigger than Trump did. Trump announced a great victory and acted as if he had a clear mandate. If so, then Biden had a bigger mandate. Also, though we lost seats, we held on to the House and captured the Senate. We captured the Senate by winning 2 runoff elections in the South. That is huge. That IS a mandate. Now, Biden needs to stop saying he wants to save the filibuster and help Dem Senate leadership swing Manchin behind dumping it (and Bernmiie?).
I agree the Dems need to be bold, or they lose the Congressional majorities in two years. No filibuster, statehood for DC and PR, immediate citizenship for Dreamers, beat Covid, middle class tax cut and higher minimum wage and infrastructure plan — ignore deficit for now, voting rights act. That wins election in two years. Jail right wingers behind Capitol assault and those who stormed the building.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 7:00 pm
I’m not overly optimistic Biden and Harris will accomplish much. But hopefully — I shall be prove wrong. They already proved me wrong by winning. So all they need to do now is do that again.
I have only one suggestion to them both. Fuck Unity. It’s bullshit. It’s a mirage. And Republicans never return the favor anyway — so fuck it. Chuck it aside. Fuck Unity.
Helen January 23, 2021, 5:46 am
Couldn’t agree with you more
LisforLeslie January 24, 2021, 8:56 am
They have two years and they know it.
anonymousse January 20, 2021, 8:00 pm
I am so relieved and hopeful.
allathian January 21, 2021, 4:18 am
In the words of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “After four years, Europe has a friend in the White House.” As I watched the inauguration with my 5th grader, I think both of us were struck by the historic nature of the event. It gives me hope to think that preteens all over the world, even if they aren’t directly affected by it, think that Trump was an idiot.
Sara January 21, 2021, 8:18 am
Vogue released a limited number of inauguration copies of their magazine with the “better” cover. I’m planning on getting the cover framed to remind myself that females can dream big and make it.
https://subscribe.vogue.com/subscribe/vogue/137025
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 1:37 pm
This whole Vogue cover issue confuses me. Frankly — It infantilizes Kamala in my mind. Infantilizes her greatly. NEWSFLASH: She was fucking there. She saw that stupid set with all that tacky fabric.. More — she put on that “meh” outfit and those laughably stupid shoes that everybody is somehow SO taken with. Even though everybody I knew (with style and flair in North Dakota, no less!) was over by 8th grade. She approved this look. Her team approved the look. Then stood around sipping coffee as she posed awkwardly. Did they say anything? Apparently not. They were all too helpless, I guess.
Sorry, but I once did a ‘headshots” shoot years ago. And I was promptly outraged when all the pics were pretty Meh. How could I be awkward in the images? But you know what? It was me that was smiling stiffly in the photographs. The photographer DIDN’T do that. He also had said that the sweater I was hell bent on wearing “wasn’t his pick.” Did I listen? No. So, guess what? I had to do and pay for another photo shoot.
Sorry, But I am having a pretty tough time buying that team Harris didn’t authorize this cover and then backtrack when it was universally panned. Seriously. Hell, the second cover really isn’t that much better. It just isn’t.
Kamala Harris is simply NOT very photogenic. NOT everybody is . (And really — is that REALLY that important to the office of Vice President?)
But the way so many on the Left think she was somehow maliciously victimized by dastardly Vogue really negates her power as a woman. It’s a bizarre narrative. Sorry, if you can’t take on a mediocre cunt like Anna Wintour — well, good luck dealing with the Republicans.
Seriously. And if you want to make sure you look good on a cover — hire better fucking people. Ones that don’t just stand there — oohing and ahhing and telling you how fabulous you look when you clearly don’t.
Madonna has NEVER looked bad on a cover and she has been on thousands! Why is that? Okay, 1) She’s Madonna. But 2.) she fucking TAKES control. And if the VP can’t take control of a fucking cover shoot for a magazine LONG past it’s prime? Then God fucking help us.
Seriously. This issue is simply so fucking shallow and stupid to me.
Dear Wendy January 21, 2021, 2:44 pm
Madonna is actually pretty past her prime, too, tbh.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 3:02 pm
Yes. Because… God, forbid someone age. If they are a woman.
Dear Wendy January 21, 2021, 3:04 pm
It’s not age that’s her problem, it’s a complete lack of relevance.
Kate January 21, 2021, 3:10 pm
I don’t think she’s put out good music or been relevant in this century.
Also not really a fair comparison of an entertainer to a lawmaker in terms of taking good pictures.
anonymousse January 21, 2021, 3:13 pm
The photographer is actually supposed to direct the subject in how to pose and correct wrong angles, decide what’s working and not. And Madonna has had decades of experience in front of the camera. I assume Kamala and her team probably imagined Vogue had it all under control because they absolutely should have.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 3:15 pm
The people of Malawi might argue with you there.
Kate January 21, 2021, 3:19 pm
She put out good music in Malawi in the 21st century?
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 3:20 pm
Honestly? It baffling to me anybody even cares what the cover looks like. Nobody ever talked about how Biden or Pence ever looked on their magazine covers. Although… they may not ever have had any.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 3:23 pm
Regarding Malawi — I was talking about her relevance, Kate. (Do a little research into how much she’s done to aid thar country for well over a decade. ) But go ahead, keep tearing her down. It’s a great look.
ktfran January 21, 2021, 3:24 pm
I really have no skin in this fight, but you must know that men and women are held to much different standards where looks, especially on magazine covers, are concerned.
And I do believe it’s the photographers job to do right by their subject, otherwise anyone could do it. That did not happen with here.
Kate January 21, 2021, 3:25 pm
Because certain types of people care a lot that a strong, black, beautiful woman has made history by becoming the nation’s first VP and hoped Vogue could reflect that on their cover.
Kate January 21, 2021, 3:28 pm
Sure, adopting babies from Africa and sending money is on par with being elected the first female, person of color, Vice President of the United States in terms of anything.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 3:49 pm
I’m not comparing the two. I used Madonna as an example as she always takes control of her image on magazine covers. Kamala and Madonna are both pretty big winners and will both still be famous long after they are dead. For different reasons.
You don’t need to tear Madonna down to lift Kamala up. You just don’t. And I doubt Kamala would appreciate it either.
All I was trying to say is that I don’t think Vogue was trying to make her look bad on the cover. Honestly? She looks how most “normal” non media celebrities would look. Nice, but maybe just a little awkward. She’s NOT a model. If her PR team wants her to look better — and why not? — then they should work a little harder on the day to ensure that happens.
They clearly didn’t here.
And then conveniently blamed Vogue. I don’t but that narrative.
Kate January 21, 2021, 3:56 pm
Excuse me, you tore Kamala down by saying she’s awkward and not photogenic. Neither of which are true.
And what’s Vogue’s job then, if not to make people look good on their cover in such a way as to sell magazines, and thus ads?
anonymousse January 21, 2021, 5:26 pm
It’s absolutely the Vogue teams literal job and career to make the cover look good. And the buck stops at the desk of the editor. I don’t really understand the blaming of KH’s PR team at all.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 11:37 pm
I’ve mace my share of mistakes. But i’ve yet to jail an innocent father for decades.
https://theappeal.org/san-francisco-is-paying-for-jamal-truloves-wrongful-conviction-will-kamala-harris/
Lurker_2000 January 22, 2021, 2:05 pm
It would be so funny if, after all the disgusting, sometimes truly vile and upsetting, misogynist sh*t BGM has spewed on DW for years, people disagreeing with him about madonna was his last straw.
ron January 23, 2021, 6:51 pm
Yes, the photographer knows how to best dress, make up, pose and light their subject to get the desired result. But what is the desired result? The photographer works for the publisher and the publisher’s goal is to sell product, which often translates to being controversial or at least to stand out as distinctly different.
BGM is correct that it is up to the photographic subjects PR people to make sure their client is presented as they wish them to be presented, rather than as the magazine wants to present them. The subject can always say no and walk away. The subject especially can say: “no, I choose not to wear that.”
Do we even know that V.P. Harris is actually unhappy with the original cover?
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 4:17 pm
Again… her PR team dropped the ball. They should have been more hands on.
I’ve been on the set of several photo shoots. Tony Curtis. Cindy Crawford. The cast of a forgotten sitcom… They all had personal teams that were all quite hands on about wardrobe and backgrounds.
That Kamala’s team wasn’t is perplexing to me. The lighting? It’s unflattering. That much would have been apparent on set. Now maybe they somehow thought it would look better in picture? But again — in this digital age you instantly know how something reads on camera. You literally look at the test shots moments after they were taken. So I remainbaffled by the lighting.
Maybe her team wanted her to look down to earth and super relatable or something like that… and in the end it just didn’t work. But I very much doubt Vogue purposely did this. Her team is passing the buck. If I was her, I’d fire whoever was in charge and start over. Poach somebody from Oprah who is also a force to be reckoned with on covers.
The second cover is just as awkward with the arms. It looks stiff. Closes off But maybe there simply weren’t any better shots? How long was the shoot? Was it rushed? If it was that’s bad on her PR team. Not Vogue.
Kate January 21, 2021, 4:36 pm
Maybe they don’t know this stuff very well because they’re used to policy stuff and not photo shoots. I still don’t think it’s their job. They’re not the PR team of an actress or singer.
Kate January 21, 2021, 4:41 pm
I mean it’s literally everyone at Vogue’s job to make the cover look good. And Kamala Harris is someone who can look damn good on camera. I’ve never seen her irl and I think she’s gorgeous. So someone didn’t do their job and it’s the Vogue staff.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 4:43 pm
Maybe, but it seems doubtful to me that the VP Elect doesn’t have a PR team. I don’t see how any candidate would get through a campaign without one. I’m not talking about her political support staff or policy advisers — God no. I am specifically calling out her PR rep. I can’t believe she doesn’t have one.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 4:46 pm
Here: from USA TODAY:
Harris’ current campaign press secretary is Sabrina Singh, a former senior adviser and communications director for Harris’ California Senate office, CNN reported.
Singh has been the press secretary of two Democratic presidential hopefuls: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and businessman and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
She has also previously served as deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee, and in 2016 she was the regional communications director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, according to The American Bazaar.
Kate January 21, 2021, 4:47 pm
It’s so ridiculous to assert that it’s anyone’s fault but Vogue that they put out a bad cover, I just can’t. Elle somehow did a pretty good job, so ?♀️
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 5:47 pm
At any rate, they should definitely NOT use that photographer ever again. If I had been the editor at Vogue — I’d have scrapped the cover. Which I suspect would have REALLY played well.
Vogue’s party line is that the wardrobe choices were deliberate. Trying to make her relatable. And blah blah blah. Which admittedly IS hilarious. Who buys Vogue because the cover models are relatable?
That said, political PR flacks love this shit. (Even though it never works.). I suspect Harris’ team LOVE this “oooh, make her approachable” idea only then hated the results after the cover was ripped to shreds on twitter.
Then they protested. Which is a little too little too late.
I guess because I create images for a living on shitty lifetime movies — often making mediocre locations look amazing with shit from the 99 Cent Store — I have a hard time believing this cover was created in a vacuum and team Harris was SO blindsided. To me — that takes away a lot of her power.
But I have said all I have to say on this issue.
Kate January 21, 2021, 6:04 pm
Good, no one needs to be ripping Kamala Harris right now. Go back and read your initial post, it was pretty vicious about her.
Kate January 21, 2021, 8:14 pm
Hey, I did some research on Madonna like you said.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/madonna-george-floyd-son-dance-racism-instagram-1507286%3famp=1
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 9:52 pm
Classy, Kate. Madonna has a history of racially insensitive tweets. Some also think Kamala has a history of disproportionately prosecuting blacks. Take a wild guess at which one did more real world damage.
Sigh… I think I need a break from this place, It’s been fun. But increasingly less so as of late. Have a great 2021, everybody. Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay healthy.
d2 January 21, 2021, 9:40 am
I thought Amanda Gorman’s presentation during the inauguration was stunning.
Hazel January 21, 2021, 4:11 pm
I agree she was just amazing.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 5:51 pm
Yes, she was fantastic.
Bittergaymark January 21, 2021, 5:58 pm
Her only mistake was she failed to wear dorky mittens like Bernie Sanders.
But then, that was apparently everybody’s mistake. They could all have been memes… if only they’d all had the wisdom to wear chunky, goofy, impractical mittens.
😉
Hazel January 22, 2021, 5:52 pm
Ah, the power of mittens.I am a fan of Bernie and if a single image (mittens) gives him more power that pleases me, If only it was as simple as mittens though. I know it seems importune as a non US citizen but what you do affects us all, and we very much liked Bernie. Kamala is popular and Biden has surpassed our expectations so far. But Bernie’s policies were great and I hope they are adopted especially re the environment.
Helen January 23, 2021, 6:08 am
I love Bernie too. Unfortunately, The US isn’t ready for him yet. He was born a century too soon