Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate, has not just energised a moribund party but is bringing back to the fold sections of voters (Blacks, college students and Latinos) that helped Joe Biden win the last presidential elections.
US college campuses have seen unprecedented pro-Palestinian protests this summer. The youth were angry at Biden administration’s inability to get a ceasefire and end what many termed as “genocide” in Gaza. They were incensed that US-supplied weapons were being used by the IDF on civilians in Gaza. All through the ongoing crisis, Biden has been cautious not to criticise Israel in public. For many, it appeared that Benyamin Netanyahu, and not Biden, was calling the shots.
Netanyahu was in the US this week and addressed a joint House of Congress on Wednesday, as massive demonstrations against his policies took place outside around Capitol Hill. Kamala Harris did not attend as she had a previous commitment away from Washington. Some Democratic lawmakers also gave the event a miss.
Harris met Netanyahu later Thursday and spoke to White House reporters. Her remarks will further consolidate her position among the youth. Though she broadly followed the Biden line and said that Israel had the right to defend itself, she also voiced compassion about the condition of civilians in Gaza. Harris was careful not to cross the line knowing well that a large section of American voters solidly backed the Israeli state. She also knows the tremendous power of the Israeli lobby in the US.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.” She added, “I also expressed to the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza.”
She proceeded to promote the peace deal that the Biden administration had been pushing without much success in the last few months. The talks are continuing in Qatar but with Netanyahu not spelling out his thoughts on the day after, few think he is serious about ending the war. While Kamala Harris’ sharp comments and her appeal for peace will resonate among the youth, the Republicans will attack her for being antisemitic. However, the fact that she is married to Doug Emhoff, an American Jew, will blunt some of their attacks.
Latest poll numbers among these groups indicate that Kamala Harris has been able to enthuse those who had been lukewarm to a second Biden term. Among young voters, aged 18 to 29, Harris got 56 per cent support compared to Biden’s 40 per cent. Among independents, Harris polled 45 per cent to Biden’s 37 per cent and among Latin voters, Harris got 57 per cent against 41 per cent to Biden. Clearly, getting Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket has paid dividends for the party.
As the campaign gathers steam and Trump, a clear winner against Biden, faces the new reality of Kamala Harris, electioneering is poised to get nasty. In fact, racist and misogynist attacks have also begun.
The attacks on Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate, are no surprise. As a Black woman of Indian heritage running for the highest office, vicious attacks are a given. Racist and misogynist slurs against her will only accelerate as the campaign gathers steam and her numbers stack up. Racists who cannot digest a non-White becoming their command-in-chief, have attacked her record, criticized her full-throated laugh, said she is lazy, and given to collect “government cheques” meaning Blacks need not work they get handouts from the government!
All this is nothing compared to what Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said of her in 2021. That attack on Harris and other Democrats is now being circulated. She was called out for not having biological children.
“Look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. How does it make any sense we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” Vance had said in an interview to Fox News. He dubbed them as “childless cat ladies”. Pete Buttigieg is gay and is the US Transport Secretary.
While this kind of vicious attack may fire up the Republican base, it will not go down well with non-committed voters. Kamala’s husband Emhoff’s ex-wife came out in support of her and said that for over 10 years, her children Cole and Ella have been co-parented together with her and Doug. She went on to praise Harris saying, “She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”
Kamala Harris may not be able to sustain her momentum but for now she has been able to fire-up the Democratic base. Whether she will make history as the first woman president of the US is open to question. But she is giving the Republicans a run for their money.
