Last Thursday, Oprah stepped into the political arena once again. She hosted a town hall/forum with Kamala Harris in Michigan, an important swing state. Many celebrities Zoomed into the town hall, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lopez, Bryan Cranston, Chris Rock and more. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not Zoom in. No one was expecting them to. But! It would have been weird if they went the entire election cycle without saying anything, right? Which is why Archewell staff posted a message reminding people to vote and talking, in vague terms, about the stakes of this election. Vanity Fair also reported that Harry and Meghan “have no plans to endorse a candidate right now.” Which makes me wonder if Meghan plans to do a low-key endorsement right before the election. In any case, the Telegraph has combined these two things – the Oprah-Kamala town hall and the Archewell GOTV post – and come up with the biggest question facing the British public in the year 2024: why weren’t Harry & Meghan in Michigan, supporting Kamala Harris? Some highlights from another ridiculous article:
The Michigan town hall: There was no sign of Duchesses For Kamala or Sussexes For Harris. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are, The Telegraph can disclose, deliberately going out of their way to stay out of the US elections This goes some way to explain why the Duchess, despite her close ties to Winfrey, the queen of US television, did not add her endorsement to Thursday’s event, a huge show of support for the Democratic contender in the tightest of presidential races. Other major celebrities did, including such Hollywood royalty as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Bryan Cranston.
Meghan’s political ambitions: Another reason why the Duchess might have been expected to attend is that for some time there have been reports of her political ambitions, all of them denied. The rumour mill has even gone so far as to suggest that the Duchess made tentative inquiries to replace Ms Harris as senator in California when she became vice-president. The claim has been branded “implausible” and “ridiculous” by sources close to the Duchess.
Meghan’s 2020 call to Gavin Newsom: Four years ago, the Duchess spent an hour on a direct call with Gavin Newsom, the golden state’s charismatic governor and an ally of Ms Harris, to discuss her arrival in Montecito, the wealthy town on the fringes of Santa Barbara that is now home to the Duke and Duchess. The call was made in mid-October, two weeks before the 2020 US election and at a particularly sensitive time. The Biden-Harris triumph left a Senate seat vacant that under convention was in the gift of Mr Newsom to fill. He was under pressure to replace Ms Harris, at the time the only black female senator, with a candidate of the same sex and ethnicity. In the end he plumped for Alex Padilla, the first Latino to represent California.
More details on this mysterious call: Details of the call between Mr Newsom and the Duchess of Sussex remain private but it is thought the Duchess, a former actress in the US hit show Suits, was keen to let the Democratic governor know she was supportive of him. The Duke was also on the call, The Telegraph understands. It is not clear who initiated the call and what precisely was discussed but it likely would have included discussions about security and the logistics of having a branch of the Royal family in California.
Why are the Sussexes’ reluctant to be politically engaged this year? The contrast with four years ago is marked. In September 2020, when Donald Trump was going toe-to-toe with Joe Biden, the Duke and Duchess appeared on camera with a personal appeal to American voters to register in order to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”. Trump reacted badly. “I’m not a fan,” he remarked of the Duchess before wishing Prince Harry “a lot of luck”. In spring this year, Trump warned that “appropriate action” should be taken if it turned out the Duke had lied on his US visa application over taking cocaine, magic mushrooms and marijuana in his youth…The couple’s reticence to enter the political fray might well be understandable in light of a possible Trump return to the White House. He is not known for being forgiving.
Republicans buy jam too: It is possible that in trying to make the [ARO] business venture work, the last thing the Duchess would want to do is appear divisive by backing one political party over another. Meanwhile the Duke, according to reports, is trying to patch things up with London. The last thing he wants is a further political row to muddy those waters.
Maybe the Democrats don’t want the Sussexes! And then there’s the distinct possibility that the Democrats just don’t want the Sussexes’ support. The Duchess is a figure who is both loved and hated. In a tight election, Ms Harris cannot afford to lose voters, however unlikely that might be as a consequence of an endorsement from the Californian exiles. And then there’s this from a Democratic strategist in California, who knows the governor and the party machine there. “With all due respect to Meghan Markle,” said the source, “given the star power that we have in California, she’s kind of in the minor ranks of them to be honest.” Ouch.
This kind of obsession is unhealthy from the Telegraph. I know Harry prefers to deal with them, but they’ve shown their asses hundreds of times in recent years. So, let’s break this down. Harry doesn’t vote and can’t vote in America, so he makes a point of not endorsing anyone. Meghan is an American citizen and she votes. She spoke out against Donald Trump eight years ago and Trump and the MAGA cult have attacked her ever since. On the other side, Kamala Harris has been nothing but supportive, and I 100% believe that Meghan is equally supportive of her former senator. The Telegraph is really trying hard to miss the point, which is that it doesn’t matter if Meghan endorses Harris-Walz. The Democrats have a huge amount of celebrity support already, and Meghan’s endorsement really would just be a drop in the bucket. Meghan isn’t Taylor Swift nor does Meghan need to do some Swiftian damage control after publicly hugging a Trump supporter. We know where Meghan stands politically. And we also know that Trump would have his supporters burn Meghan in effigy if she endorsed. Now, all that being said… I still hope that Meghan says something or does something. Every little bit counts. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, damn the consequences or the heat you might get.
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