News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Mayor Sam Joshi To Join Governor Murphy On New Jersey India Economic Mission M ayor Sam Joshi will join New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on the upcoming New Jersey India Economic Mission, an initiative coordinated by Choose New Jersey. The delegation, beginning its work in New Delhi, seeks to strengthen busi- ness ties between India and New Jersey through a series of high-level briefings and discussions. The mission will focus on critical topics shaping the global economic landscape, including trade opportuni- ties, socio-economic challenges, strategic priorities, and technological advancements. By engaging with govern- ment leaders and executives frommajor corporations, New Jersey officials aim to foster investments and part- nerships that can generate growth back home. Mayor Joshi expressed excitement about Edison’s inclu- sion in the mission, emphasizing the potential benefits for the township’s economy and future development. He said he is proud Edison is being considered for strategic expansion and potential partnerships. As the world moves further into an artificial intelligence era, Joshi noted the mission has a direct impact on Edison’s economy, with hopes of attracting major corporations to the township. He added that local economic growth, technological advancements, and educational opportunities will all benefit from the mission. Governor Murphy underscored that the trip is privately funded and not paid for by taxpayers. The delegation is expected to engage in wide- ranging conversations with industry leaders across sectors, positioning New Jersey as a prime destination for global investment while promot- ing the state’s innovation-driven economy. PHOTO:Mayor’s OfficeTownship of Edison By a StaffWriter Kamala Harris Explains Why It Wasn’t Her Fault K amala Harris did not select an easy assignment when she chose to write her memoir of the presi- dential campaign, “107 Days.” Though the Demo- cratic defeat in 2024 has a thousand parents, it’s extremely difficult to argue that the nominee herself did not have a significant role in a beating that Democrats always knew would have far-reaching consequences. Even the book’s title, referring to how long Harris was the Democratic presidential nominee, is an implied excuse; many Democrats have talked themselves into believing that the race was too short and if it had gone on longer, she would have pulled ahead. That’s not borne out by the data, as Donald Trump gained ground from late August to Election Day and, once again, most polling was underestimating his support. (Also note: The Pew Re- search Center determined that even if every eligible voter had gone to the polls, Trump still would have won.) The Atlantic published an excerpt from Harris’s mem- oir onWednesday morning, and the section suggests that the subtitle of her forthcoming book should be “Why Nothing That Happened Last YearWas My Fault.” First, Harris backs the implausible contention that Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance was a result of jet lag from overseas travel: “I don’t think it’s any surprise that the debate debacle happened right after two back- to-back trips to Europe and a flight to theWest Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser.” Biden returned from his overseas trip on June 15 and later that day attended the Hollywood fundraiser - where he reportedly didn’t recognize George Clooney, who, in addition to being one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, had met Biden many times before. The debate was on June 27. If you’re still jet-lagged 12 days after an overseas trip, you’re in no condition to be president. Much of the excerpt is Harris spilling the tea about how she felt as though the Biden team undermined her at every turn during her time as vice president. At times, it sounds as if Harris felt the Biden loyalists were an even more infuriating and consequential opponent than the Republicans. - “When Fox News attacked me on everything from my laugh, to my tone of voice, to whom I’d dated in my 20s, or claimed I was a ‘DEI hire,’ theWhite House rarely pushed back with my actual résumé.” - “They had a huge comms team; they had Karine Jean-Pierre briefing in the pressroom every day. But get- ting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible.” - “The president’s staff was adding fuel to negative nar- ratives that sprang up around me.” When Harris went to France in 2021, conservative media “went wild, claiming I’d faked a French accent. This was total nonsense,” Harris recounts, “but theWhite House seemed glad to let reporting about my ‘gaffe’ overwhelm the significant thaw in foreign relations I’d achieved.” Contemporaneous reporting does affirm that there were worse-than-usual tensions between the Biden’s in- ner circle and Harris, going back to when they faced each other in the 2020 Democratic primaries. After one debate, in which Harris had attacked Biden, his wife, Jill, report- edly cursed at her and later opposed Harris’s selection as her husband’s running mate. A 2022 book by then-NewYork Times reporters Jona- than Martin and Alexander Burns quoted Biden advisers who believed Harris’s staff focused on trivial matters such as how she looked on the cover of Vogue. A 2023 Reuters report quoted a Biden confidant as saying, regarding presidential responsibilities, “I don’t think that the presi- dent sees her as somebody who takes anything off of his plate.” Harris herself complains that she got stuck with the worst assignments. In 2021, Biden announced that Harris would “lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help - are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stem- ming the migration to our southern border.” She writes: “Republicans mischaracterized my role as ‘border czar.’” (Reread the Biden quote above and decide for yourself whether that’s really such a wild mischaracterization.) She complains, “No one in theWhite House comms team helped me to effectively push back and explain what I had really been tasked to do, nor to highlight any of the progress I had achieved.” And: “No one around the presi- dent advocated, Give her something she can win with.” Welcome to the vice presidency, where you rarely if ever get the popular and easy tasks. Harris does believe that she knocked it out of the park with the administration’s messaging on abortion and Gaza but concludes she was punished for that, too. “When polls indicated that I was getting more popular, the people around him didn’t like the contrast that was emerging.” The excerpt concludes: “My success was important for him. His team didn’t get it.” An unhelpful Biden team was no doubt a problem for Harris as vice president, but there is also that little matter of how she performed in the job. In Harris’s version of events, she was consistently doing great work - but her job approval rating remained in the low 40s and high 30s because of a pincer movement of Fox News, GOP critics and saboteurs within the Biden administration, driven by jealousy. And the lack of support from Biden’sWhite House team she’s so bitter about preceded those 107 days. Once Harris was the nominee, it was her show - at the Demo- cratic convention, on the debate stage and on the cam- paign trail with her riffs about “joy” and coconut trees. Perhaps the full book, coming out Sept. 23, will have better answers - but for now, a reader is left asking: Never mind losing the race overall; if you did such a terrific job, why couldn’t you manage to win even one swing state? -Special to TheWashington Post Jim Geraghty PHOTO:Sarah L.Voisin/TheWashington Post Vice President Kamala Harris appears at a White House meeting on Jan. 9. US Affairs News India Times (September 13, 2025 - September 19, 2025) September 19, 2025 7