Q&A: Kamala Harris' longtime friend on the VP's greatest political strength and her sister Maya's role in campaign dysfunction

• One of Vice President Kamala Harris' friends is coming out with a new book on their upbringing.
• Stacey Johnson-Batiste spoke with Insider about her longtime friendship with Harris.

Stacey Johnson-Batiste has been by Vice President Kamala Harris' side since the two were in the inaugural school desegregation program in Berkeley, Calif., becoming some of of the first Black children to attend Thousand Oaks elementary school in 1969.

They even spoke last Tuesday, she told Insider.

Since her first day in kindergarten alongside the VP, Johnson-Batiste has had a front row seat to Harris' historical political career.

Johnson-Batiste's forthcoming book "Friends from the Beginning" details the pair coming of age in the Bay Area and trying to make it as young professionals while confronting the additional challenges of navigating the workplace and leadership positions as women of color.

Johnson-Batiste, a telecommunications professional, spoke with Insider on Monday, offering a behind the scenes look at her friendship with the VP.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The vice president just hit an all-time low in her approval rating at 28%. How do you see this decline in public opinion, knowing her the way you do?

So first of all, let me say my field is telecommunication, so I don't really keep up too much with politics and political hearsay, and things of that sort. But I can speak to being just a regular person. What I think is probably factoring into this is we're still coming off of a very, very tough, unique year with so many issues and things that converged coming out of 2020. I also think that the previous administration didn't make it easy for anyone coming in after them.

You know, we have the pandemic, we have so many Americans that have lost their lives to COVID. We have people that are out of work. There's been quite a bit of flux and transition with the workforce and the way people work, there's been frustrations with the border - there's just been a lot going on. I don't care what your party is or what your background is or whatnot, to come in and immediately turn things around.

What I do know about Vice President Harris, my good friend Kamala, is that she is a hard worker and she's diligent. And I would imagine she is spending her time kind of behind the scenes, doing the vice president work, really learning what's going on in our country as well as other countries. She's the type of person who's going to understand what's going on, what are all the factors, and then come up with a plan to correct it.

I think the current poll numbers are temporary, very temporary, and I am hopeful and I do think they're going to trend upward.

Could you describe Kamala's relationship with her sister Maya? There have been reports about infighting and dysfunction stemming from Maya's role with Kamala's presidential campaign. Was the professional relationship between them any kind of extension of what you saw between them growing up?

Growing up, Maya was like a little sister to me as well, even though we're only three years apart. They both love each other tremendously, they both respect each other, admire each other. Kamala is older, obviously, but I know that she looks up to Maya.

I can only imagine running for president. Campaigning is not easy. There's a lot of work that needs to be done, you're up and out and on the road many, many hours a day. It can be very hectic, very stressful. I can only imagine.

And it was a tough campaign. One, Kamala has always been very well liked and very well known here in California, so there was a challenge in getting others across the country in getting to know her. Then financial challenges, it takes a lot of money to run a campaign. There was a lot going on there.

But as far as their relationship, they've always been very close, and I think of Maya as my younger sister. I always have, and I always will.

How much do you think gender expectations and being the nation's first woman vice president alter the way people might see Kamala on TV compared to how you know her?

That's a great question. I know from experience that it is not easy climbing up the ranks being a woman and a woman of color, no matter what the industry is. So I can only imagine her challenge to be taken seriously as a Black woman. It's almost as if we have to do two or three-times as well as anyone else to be considered half as good.

But I also think that she's been very qualified for each position she's held. So keeping this in mind being a female and a woman of color, I think many people are just conditioned to expect that a man takes on those roles, or white men take on those roles, and not necessarily see the contribution and the whole person, and what they're truly capable of and what they've accomplished.

So when I hear her making speeches, I observe her thinking very carefully about the question, being poignant with her answers - but I also see the same person who I've always seen. Someone who is intuitive, who is insightful, and who is very thoughtful and caring about our country, every American in this country, and very clear about what needs to be done.

What do you think is Kamala's greatest strength, and how do you see that strength being transmitted from her position at the White House?

From my perspective, being a close friend, for me, she's always been a great listener. And for me, she listens to what I have to say as if everything I'm saying is interesting and important. So she has always been a really good listener, something that I think she may have gotten from her mother and our aunt Mary. She listens to understand, and with so many issues and the dynamics going on, I think that's what it really takes. Someone who is willing to listen to the people and understand their issues, their concerns, their expectations in order to move forward.

How do you see that playing out at the beginning of Biden's first term so far?

Well, that's a little tough for me because, again, I don't really keep up too well with too much of the political day-to-day. What I believe about her is that she listens to the people, no matter what side they're on or their position, in order to understand the bigger picture.