In a wild, stunning MSNBC segment on Tuesday, August 20, during the Democratic National Convention, an MSNBC contributor argued that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee and current beau of nearly the entire party, may replace former President Barack Obama as the most influential African-American politician in the Democratic Party.

The commentator who made that claim, a wild one given the huge unpopularity of Kamala Harris compared to Obama and her lack of a substantive narrative or agenda, quite unlike him, was April Ryan, She made it when asked about the “star power” at the Democratic National Convention, namely Barack Obama and Michelle Obama showing up and speaking.

Ryan, responding. said that the Obamas, particularly Michelle, are “icons” and “authentic,” and so it was great to have them at the convention. She said, “Well, first of all, Michelle Obama is stratospheric. She is an icon. She is authentic. When you talk about someone reaching someone, she is Chicago, born and bred, South Side. You can’t get more authentic than that.”

Continuing, Ryan said that Al Sharpton added credibility as well, saying, “When she speaks, she speaks to the heart. So let’s go there, and people believe her and feel her. But when you have two people — beyond Reverend Al Sharpton, who I’m sitting right next to — who are some of the greatest orators of our time, you know, people are going to listen.”

Then, somewhat incredibly, she claimed that the Kamala DNC is “even larger” as a moment than when Obama was elected, saying, “This moment is even larger than when Barack Obama became president. I remember the night that he was elected, and I happened to be at the White House … and I’ll never forget all the kids who ran to the White House and just a spontaneous crowd, because they saw change. They saw people who are authentic and look like them.”

Continuing, she stunningly claimed that Kamala, if elected, might replace Obama as one of the members of the Democratic triumvirate of importance. She said, “And then with her husband, I mean, I joke about this, but there’s Jesus, HBCUs, and then there’s Barack Obama. It may change, it may change a little bit if Kamala Harris becomes president.”

Further making that point, she added, “But you know, these are two people people want to hear from, especially right now, as we’ve heard so much about this tension, if you will, these conversations about how to save the democracy that ultimately led to President Biden saying, I’m going to step aside for the sake of the democracy to make sure that we can keep the Republic.”

Watch Ryan’s wild remarks about Kamala here:

MSNBC’s @AprilDRyan: “There’s Jesus, HBCUs, & then there’s Barack Obama [although] it may change a little bit if Kamala Harris becomes president” pic.twitter.com/NTwmV7brkD

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 20, 2024

Trump, by contrast, commented quite negatively on the DNC, saying, “Kathy Hochul, the very unpopular Governor of New York, was the nastiest speaker on Monday evening (at the Democrat National Convention) as it pertains to your favorite President, me. Her total hatred, and statements made about me, had no bounds. I was amazed for two reasons: Number one, I did a GREAT job in New York, employed thousands of people, built some of the most beautiful and successful buildings, and paid billions of dollars in taxes. Number two is that, on the very distinct possibility I will win the Presidency, wouldn’t it be better for the people of New York State to have a Governor who got along with the President? Adversarial relationships are not good in politics! Unfairly, I am before a very biased and hateful New York Judicial System that is appointed and largely controlled by the Governor. With the vitriol displayed by her on Monday night, it is no wonder that the Judges have treated me so badly. The whole system is RIGGED, and companies are leaving because of it!!!”

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video