This could have been Vice President Kamala Harris’ night. But instead, it was Gov. Chris Sununu’s.
The cautious vice president, perhaps the Washington politician most needing a PR re-boot, declined an opportunity to represent the Biden administration at the first Gridiron Club dinner in three years. Instead, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo eagerly grabbed the featured slot.
But of the three ambitious politicians who headlined the white-tie dinner that is a longtime Washington’s social-political fixture – Raimondo, Sununu and Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin -- the New Hampshire governor attracted the most attention. He did so with a series of anti-Donald Trump lines that will either further his reputed White House ambitions – or doom them.
“You know, he’s probably going to be the next president,” said Sununu, one Republican who clearly hopes that doesn’t happen. Then, in an apparently Gridiron first, he called Trump “f----ing crazy” and added:
“I don't think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution. But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out!”
It played well in a crowd heavy with Democratic administration appointees and lawmakers – and journalists. Trump’s New Hampshire supporters predictably criticized Sununu, but initially there has only been silence from Mar-a-Lago.
As for the Democrats, Raimondo is one of several Cabinet members believed eager to challenge Harris if President Joe Biden doesn’t run again. She made one pointed remark at another potential administration rival.
Noting she was the “designated survivor” who stayed away from Biden’s State of the Union speech so would have become president if something dire occurred, she continued, “That probably explains why Pete Buttigieg kept calling to ask if he could do it himself.”
But her low-key delivery, at the end of an evening made over-long by Raskin’s endless speech, probably neither helped nor hurt her prospects. At the least, she noted, it might have made more people know who she is.
The fact that neither Democrat struck sparks underscored the missed opportunity for Harris.
When the White House informed the organization of Washington journalists that Biden would be unable to attend their first dinner since 2019, its leaders invited her to give the traditional closing speech for the administration.
That’s not especially unusual; Biden, as vice president, represented President Barack Obama at the first Gridiron of their administration, and Vice President Mike Pence represented Trump at the first Gridiron of his presidency.
But Harris demurred, indicating to at least one person who urged her to speak that she didn’t feel she had enough time to prepare for so high-profile an event.
Though not televised, the Gridiron has been a traditional tryout venue for aspiring national politicians before a cross-section of Washington’s political establishment. One need only look at the list of past speakers.
A month after his election to the Senate, Obama spoke to the club’s members-only Winter Dinner. Fifteen months later, as he mulled a presidential bid, he spoke at the larger Spring Dinner. Thanking those present for his growing celebrity, he declared, “When I actually do something, we’ll let you know.” (As president, he proved a more reluctant Gridiron speaker, coming only three times in eight years.)
A year later, the GOP speaker was Mitt Romney, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid in which he subsequently ran second. The ultimate nominee, Sen. John McCain, headlined the 1999 dinner on the eve of his initial White House bid.
During the Obama years, several Republican hopefuls auditioned: Pence, then an Indiana congressman but already eyeing the governorship and the presidency; Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
In 2018, the Democratic speaker was Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the daughter of a journalist, a regular dinner attendee and a three-time Gridiron speaker who sought the presidency two years later.
It’s not been only presidential hopefuls who used Gridiron to refurbish their reputations.
After widespread criticism over her expensive dresses and costly White House redesign, First Lady Nancy Reagan unexpectedly appeared on the Gridiron stage in 1982. Wearing raggedy clothes, she sang “Second Hand Clothes” to the tune of “Second Hand Rose,” popularized by Barbra Streisand in the musical “Funny Girl.” It drew rave notices and a softening of criticism.
Harris needs to bolster her political image. Since the start of this administration – indeed, since her failed 2019 presidential campaign – she has been accurately portrayed as an over-cautious politician without clear goals and with frequent staff turnovers.
She is not only a continual target of conservative outlets like Fox News, but many Democrats privately express concern that, in Biden’s absence, she would be a weak candidate.
Bypassing Gridiron illustrates her cautious image. After all, it’s not a hard gig for an ambitious politician, and it usually produces positive notices
You hire a good speechwriter – there are plenty in Washington – and club elders know some good ones, from both parties. You mix a few timely gags with some self-deprecatory humor and end with serious words about the seriousness of the times and the importance of the free press.
That’s how Sununu became the speaker who raised his profile at the Gridiron’s 137th anniversary dinner.
