During a presidential debate, Donald Trump labeled Kamala Harris as a Marxist, attributing this ideological position to her father, Donald J. Harris. Trump claimed that Harris’s Marxist views were inherited from her father, who he described as a Marxist professor.
Trump’s Accusation:
- Statement: “She’s a Marxist. Everybody knows she’s a Marxist. Her father’s a Marxist professor in economics. And he taught her well.”
- Context: This statement was part of the political discourse during the debate.
Donald J. Harris: Academic and Personal Background
Early Life and Background:
- Birth: Born in Jamaica in 1938 to Oscar Joseph Harris and Beryl Christie Harris.
- Ancestry: Descendant of slave-owner Hamilton Brown on his father’s side, as mentioned in a 2018 essay for Jamaica Global.
Influences and Education:
- Grandmothers’ Influence:
- Paternal Grandmother: Christiana “Chrishy” Brown, managed a dry-goods store and had a political stance that influenced Harris.
- Maternal Grandmother: Iris Finegan, who managed a sugarcane farm, offering Harris early exposure to the sugar industry.
- Higher Education:
- Undergraduate Studies: BA from the University of London, University College of West Indies (1960).
- Doctoral Studies: PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (1966).
Academic Career:
- Early Positions:
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and Northwestern University (Assistant Professor).
- University of Wisconsin–Madison: Joined as an Associate Professor in 1968.
- Stanford University: Became a Professor and the first Black scholar to receive tenure in 1972.
Personal Life
Marriage and Family:
- Marriage: Met Shyamala Gopalan at Berkeley in 1962. Married in 1964.
- Children: Kamala and Maya Harris.
- Divorce: The couple divorced in 1971, with Shyamala winning custody of the children in 1972.
Kamala Harris’s Childhood:
- Parental Divorce: Kamala was seven years old when her parents divorced.
- Description of Upbringing: Describes her upbringing as being raised by a single mother and her relationship with her father as “cordial but distant.”
Academic Contributions
Scholarship and Influence:
- Reputation: The Stanford Daily in 1976 described him as a Marxist scholar who was seen as leading students away from neo-classical economics.
- Contributions:
- Integrated post-Keynesian economics into Development Economics.
- Focused on capital accumulation and its implications for economic growth.
- Critically analyzed economic traditions in the US and Caribbean economies, especially Jamaica.
Publications:
- Notable Works:
- “Capital Accumulation and Income Distribution” (1978).
- “Jamaica’s Export Economy: Towards a Strategy of Export-led Growth” (1997).
Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs):
- What was Donald Trump’s claim about Kamala Harris during the presidential debate?
- A) She is a conservative.
- B) She inherited Marxist views from her father.
- C) She is an economist.
- D) She supports neoliberal policies.
- Which university did Donald J. Harris receive his PhD from?
- A) University of Illinois
- B) University of California, Berkeley
- C) Stanford University
- D) University of London
- What significant role did Donald J. Harris achieve at Stanford University in 1972?
- A) He became the head of the Economics Department.
- B) He was the first Black scholar to be granted tenure.
- C) He was appointed as Dean of the School of Economics.
- D) He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.
- Which publication is NOT authored by Donald J. Harris?
- A) “Capital Accumulation and Income Distribution”
- B) “Jamaica’s Export Economy: Towards a Strategy of Export-led Growth”
- C) “The Marxist Perspective on Modern Economics”
- D) “Inflation, Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth: A Theoretical and Numerical Analysis”
- How did Kamala Harris describe her relationship with her father?
- A) Very close and supportive
- B) Estranged and distant
- C) Cordial but distant
- D) Hostile and confrontational