Could Kamala Harris being a cook influence the White House race? The Los Angeles Times investigates
A Los Angeles Times article recounted Vice President Kamala Harris’ experience cooking and argued it could help her win the upcoming presidential election.
Vice President Harris’ experience as a cook could be a political asset, a Los Angeles Times article suggested on Monday.
"Food has long been part of politics. It can reveal a bit of personality and connect a candidate with voters. But pitfalls abound. When a culinary moment doesn't work — John Kerry ordering a cheesesteak in Philadelphia with Swiss cheese instead of Cheez Whiz, or Gerald Ford attempting to eat a tamale without removing its corn husk wrapper — a politician can seem elitist or even, yes, chowderheaded," it read.
The article continued, "Harris, though, seems equipped to navigate potential food faux pas, because she harbors genuine culinary expertise, and has for years made it part of her public persona."
The story cited the vice president’s 2019 YouTube series "Cooking With Kamala" where she displayed "subtle kitchen skills true cooks appreciate."
"Among her abilities: She can deftly crack an egg with one hand. Moments before a TV interview, she advised a journalist on how to brine a Thanksgiving turkey. She reads cookbooks to unwind and has mused that one day she'll write one," it listed.
Though Harris being a cook while campaigning "flies in the face of norms," the LA Times quoted experts listing the benefits if she would embrace becoming the "best cook to ever serve as president."
"She really ought to say, 'When I am in the White House, I am going to share recipes with you,’" Bruce Kraig, author of "A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America," said. "It would undercut a lot of the right-wing Americans yelling about getting women back in the kitchen."
"Some politically minded people would say [to Harris], 'Tamp back on being in the kitchen, because we are fighting an uphill battle running a woman for president,'" Bennett Rea, whose blog centers on cooking politicians' favorite recipes, said. "She doesn't seem to be doing that. Her refusal to set that part of herself aside speaks to how important it is to her."
Rea also agreed it could help sway right-wing Donald Trump voters who value traditional roles.
"That's the thing his supporters love," she said. "It could be a strategy."
Last week, the outlet Scientific American became the subject of mockery on social media for publishing a piece saying that Harris will bring a scientific perspective to the presidency if she wins because her mom was a cancer researcher.
The headline of that article read: "What a Kamala Harris Presidency Would Mean for Science." The subhead added: "As the daughter of a cancer researcher, Kamala Harris would bring a lifelong familiarity with science to the presidency, experts say."
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Some conservative X users mocked the L.A. Times cook article as an odd way of promoting Harris.
"History's on her side, if you consider President Boyardee's two terms," Discourse Magazine writer Jon Gabriel joked.
"Oh please – if it weren't for this flood of sugary articles, who would even know Kamala Harris cooks? The media’s endless fluff is nauseating. #SomePoliticallyMinded," California Assembly Republicans chief communications consultant George Andrews remarked.
The Spectator political reporter Matthew Foldi wrote, "Super important article. I think Kamala Harris will carry the city of Los Angeles."
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"Siri, what is a non sequitur?" conservative commentator Steve Guest commented.
Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.