South Bay Teen Gets Call From VP-Elect Kamala Harris

SAN JOSE, CA — Tyler Gordon hoped Kamala Harris would notice, but never in the South Bay teen’s wildest dreams did he expect to get a call from her.

So imagine his reaction when the vice president-elect called him Wednesday to thank the 14-year-old San Jose artist for painting a portrait of her.

"She called me!!!!!! @KamalaHarris called ME!!!!" he wrote on Twitter after the call.

Harris made the call after Gordon posted a time-lapse video on Twitter of him painting the portrait to Mary J. Blige's "Work That," the vice president-elect’s walk-up song. The tweet has since gone viral.

Gordon tagged Harris in the tweet, saying: “My name is Tyler Gordon and I'm 14 years old and I live in the Bay Area! I painted this picture of you and I hope you like it!!! Please Rt and tag her so that she can see this. Please!!!”

The video shows Gordon painting the portrait in San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands in the background.

It got the attention of Chelsea Clinton and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who made sure the VP-elect noticed.

Judging by the video clips, audio of which both parties posted on Twitter, it’s not clear who enjoyed the call more.

“This is Kamala Harris calling, how are you?” the vice president-elect says, bursting into laughter. “Hi, I’m calling to speak to the artist known as Tye!”

“I’m doing well now that you called,” an incredulous Gordon is heard telling Harris in the call.

“I’m surprised.”

Harris appears to be as overwhelmed by the South Bay teen’s work as Gordon is by the call.

“Tye, you are amazing! My God – you – oh my God … I am just overwhelmed with just the magnificence of your artistry, you really have a gift, my goodness such a gift, and I was so touched to see it, and it was with my walk-on song, my Mary J. Blige…” Harris tells him.

“Oh Tye, What a wonderful, wonderful thing you’ve done. … It’s a very special thing to be an artist like you are. It’s a gift you give so many people. People you never meet are going to be touched by the work you do.”

Harris tells Gordon she hopes to meet him in person when she’s in Oakland, the city where she was born, and to stay in touch.

The Harris portrait isn’t Gordon's first that’s landed him in the spotlight.

Gordon was 12 when he presented a portrait of Janet Jackson to the pop star in May 2019.

But that apparently didn't prepare him for a call with the nation's next vice president.

“I was really shocked,” Gordon told USA Today.

Gordon created the portrait as a tribute to Harris for breaking barriers as the first woman, first Black person, and first person of Asian descent to be elected vice president, he told the newspaper.

"I, myself, broke a lot of barriers with my stuttering, breaking my hips and being deaf since I was 6," he told USA Today.

"I feel like she represents that."