Barack Obama Once Faced Major Backlash For A Spicy Comment He Made About Kamala Harris

As Vice President Kamala Harris looked like the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in late July 2024 thanks to Joe Biden's endorsement following his shocking withdrawal from the race, one notable figure was slow to endorse Harris: Barack Obama. Unlike Donald Trump, we're not trying to stir up rumors of a feud between Obama and Biden, but there is some history between Obama and Harris.

While attending a 2013 fundraiser in California, Obama made some remarks about then-Attorney General Harris that landed him in hot water. Granted, everything Obama said was complimentary and in the context of their friendship, but it was also chastised as wildly inappropriate. "You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you'd want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake," Obama said via ABC News. "She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country," he quipped to the laughing audience.

Political pundits, however, did not enjoy the cheeky aside. Obama quickly found himself mired in a mini-scandal.

Barack Obama was raked over the coals for the remarks about Kamala Harris' looks. Famed political strategist James Carville wasted no time going on MSNBC and lecturing the president for stepping out of line. "Look, I'm a 68-year-old guy and I do notice honestly the way that women look sometimes, but you've got to learn to sort of keep your opinions to yourself. I doubt if he'll do it again," Carville said (via Politico) before essentially repeating Obama's mistake. "Not the worst thing that ever happened. Based on the pictures, it's probably true."

New York Magazine writer Jonathan Chait was far less glib than Carville. "Women have a hard time being judged purely on their merits. Discussing their appearance in the context of evaluating their job performance makes it worse," Chait wrote. "It's not a compliment. And for a president who has become a cultural model for many of his supporters in so many other ways, the example he's setting here is disgraceful."

As the remarks became fodder for the political press, Today reported that Obama had already clocked the error and called Harris to apologize within hours of the event. "They are old friends and good friends and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments and her capabilities," White House spokesperson Jay Carney said in a statement. But this wasn't Obama's first public misstep when it comes to the opposite sex.

In May 2008, Barack Obama was in the midst of his historic presidential run. However, he was showing signs of a problem on the campaign trail when it came to his treatment of female reporters. In what The Guardian reported was a second instance for the presidential hopeful, Obama addressed WXYZ Detroit reporter Peggy Agar with a condescending nickname. "Hold on one second there, sweetie," Obama responded after Agar asked him a question while he was touring a Chrysler plant in Michigan. Later that night, Agar called out Obama during her broadcast. "This sweetie never did get an answer to the question," she told viewers.

However, much like the Kamala Harris incident, Obama personally called and apologize. The Democratic candidate reportedly left a voicemail for Agar while she was sleeping following an early morning in front of the camera.

"I broke my word. I apologize for that and I will make up for it," Obama said in reference to not answering Agar's question. He then apologized for calling her "sweetie" and candidly admitted it's a problem. "That's a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front."