In two months, Americans will choose the next leader of the free world. But between now and then, voters will weigh many factors, including prior political experience, publicly stated positions, and a vision for the future of our country.

The character of someone who wants to be president is another important factor. William J. Bennett, former secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan, once wrote, “It is our character that supports the promise of our future — far more than particular government programs or policies.” Here, we’d suggest that presidential candidates who can’t treat staff with decency and respect aren’t going to give a rip about the plight of the working poor or immigrant crime.

When it comes to Donald Trump, we’ve learned that he’s often more bark than bite. He’s tough on the outside but treats people around him with decency (with a few public exceptions on social media). We know very little about Kamala Harris, though, other than her lack of toughness when it comes to holding violent criminals accountable as a prosecutor, her ineptitude as the border czar, and her broad lack of understanding of domestic and international politics.

But what we do know for certain is that Harris is the opposite of Trump: smiling and cackling her way through the vice presidency while demeaning and disrespecting all the people burning the midnight oil to help her succeed. Harris’s relationships with both her superiors and subordinates over the years should raise a red flag for anyone considering giving her the keys to the Oval Office.

According to to data from Open the Books, a government watchdog, over 90% of Harris’s staff have left since she began her term as Joe Biden’s vice president three and a half years ago. Although turnover is expected in the business of politics, when over 90% of your staff have walked away, it’s time to look in the mirror. It also calls into question the perceived unity of the Biden/Harris White House.

Kamala’s toxic workplace was no secret. We noted this just a few months into her tenure as VP, citing a Politico piece that read: “The dysfunction in the VP’s ranks threatens to complicate the White House’s carefully crafted image as a place staffed by a close-knit group of professionals working in concert to advance the president’s agenda. It’s pronounced enough that members of the president’s own team have taken notice and are concerned about the way Harris’ staffers are treated.”

There’s a reason why Harris was polling in the low single digits when she dropped out of the 2020 race.

Smiles and raucous laughter aside, Kamala Harris has a history of going in for the kill whenever someone stands athwart her quest for power. Even Joe Biden. During the recently concluded Democratic National Convention, Harris had nothing but compliments for Biden. But in 2020, when they were both competing for the nomination, it was a much different story.

“When she ran against Joe Biden … she strongly implied he was a racist for opposing school busing measures and praising segregationist senators … only to later join his general election campaign as his running mate,” writes The Spectator’s Amber Duke. “And when Democratic leaders eventually shivved Biden, she was waiting in the wings, ready to take over.”

And back in 2021, The Washington Post reported, “People used to putting aside missteps, sacrificing sleep and enduring the occasional tirade from an irate boss say doing so under Harris can be particularly difficult, as she has struggled to make progress on her vice-presidential portfolio or measure up to the potential that has many pegging her as the future of the Democratic Party.”

Harris’s reputation as a difficult boss preceded her ascension to the vice presidency. In 2019, Terry McAteer wrote an op-ed for The Union describing the conditions his son Gregory endured while working as an intern for then-Senator Harris. McAteer explained, “Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day. As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, ‘Good Morning General.’”

McAteer added, “Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members. … This is not the workplace of someone who respects her staff.”

And while the lack of respect for staff might be written off as necessary in the harsh nature of politics, such behavior can reveal other troubling character flaws. Almost two years ago, author Chris Whipple published a book titled The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House. In it, he quoted a former Harris staffer saying, “[She] refused to do the kind of preparation that you need to do before going public on a hardcore policy matter. And then she became incensed and outraged when things wouldn’t go the way she thought they were supposed to.”

In the final weeks of the 2024 campaign, let’s hope voters not only examine Harris’s policy positions (if they can even pin her down on any of them) but also consider the importance of character in the person who wants to lead the nation.