Features Editor Govhar Dadashova and Staff Writer Grace Holloway assess how, as the US election in November draws closer, the Democrat nominee Kamala Harris can successfully become the first female President.
Why is social media so obsessed with Kamala Harris?
In the past few years, keeping up with the news in a conscientious and thorough manner has sometimes felt impossible. Politics can feel like a high-speed train – the minute you familiarise yourself with one subject, a different one has already arisen and is competing for your attention. It can feel like a blur of facts, figures, and competing opinions. This has never been truer than in the midst of the current presidential race in the US.
Of course, reading the news should not be a zero-sum game nor a performative act. Behind the facts and figures lie the personal experiences of people across the world. The American election is the perfect example of this, as its outcomes could have far-reaching consequences on a population of over 340 million. Not to mention, the rest of the world.
We live in a society where social media platforms have enhanced the need for short-term gratification through viral content. Social media can and has been immensely powerful when it comes to mobilising positive change. However, it can also make us lose sight of the bigger picture, ignore the importance of context, and sometimes even turn political participation into a violent act.
That being said, every now and again, there is a story which seems to wholly capture the attention of this relentless news cycle. In other words, the high-speed train pauses for a few moments longer. For a while now, one of those stories has been the stratospheric rise of Kamala Harris. The Democrat Party’s presidential candidate, the current Vice-President of the US, and California’s former Senator, who it is safe to say has captivated the attention of millions of people across the globe.
When the “Barbie” movie graced our screens in 2023, we came close to seeing what a woman of colour in office would look like (shout-out to the talented Issa Rae). However, the gap between our theatre screens and political reality seemed too wide to overcome. Today, we are now facing the real possibility (and dare I say, bubbling anticipation) of not only seeing a woman, but a woman of colour, become the next President of the United States.
It is important to note that irrespective of where you stand on her policy or her party, she is just as intelligent and competent as her male counterparts. Disrespect, sexism, or blatant racism should have no place in discussions around whether or not a woman can become President. Spoiler alert: she absolutely can. And if you have an issue with women occupying traditionally male-dominated spaces of power, that is a reflection of your own internalised misogyny.
Even as female-identifying individuals, we can be complicit in perpetuating patriarchal norms about what we should or should not do; who we can or cannot be. Once we break free of this trap and unapologetically tap into our potential, we give ourselves the opportunity to live a life that is bigger than what we could have imagined. Like so many aspects of American politics, this election is greatly symbolic, and it is crucial that we keep that fact in mind.
This cannot be overstated in a country which has positioned itself as the leader of the free world yet has failed to elect a female President. Indeed, a failure that should not be blamed on female candidates, but the patriarchal system in which they operate. A system which rewards male ambition yet has double-standards when it comes to successful and talented women.
Hillary Clinton operated on the basis of shattering a glass-ceiling. Kamala Harris is proving that maybe the glass-ceiling never actually existed. In 2016, women were still being advised what they could and could not do through the metaphor of a glass-ceiling. Whilst it might appear empowering, it only serves to reinforce the idea that only an extraordinary or phenomenal woman can achieve what an average man has done. This perpetuates the idea that women constantly need to differentiate themselves, excel in their field, and be the best of the best, to be seen as competitive to their male counterparts.
Unlike Joe Biden, who had the luxury of trying again, Clinton was not extended the same compassion or admiration from the American media. Biden was positioned as dedicated and committed, but Clinton was seen as clinical, insincere, and bland. Even now, every aspect of Harris has been scrutinised in this election. From her tan-coloured suit at the Democratic National Convention to her supposedly irritating laugh, her opponents will do anything to tear her to pieces.
Perhaps that is what makes Kamala Harris so hard to look away from. Rather than tear her to pieces, the criticism seems to roll off her back and make her stronger. This is certainly the result of a carefully constructed image by her PR team, but it also reflects who she is a person. So many female-identifying individuals, or anyone who has ever felt marginalised, can relate to her story of struggle and perseverance. Whether or not this will actually occur is still to be determined, but Harris is different from Trump, because she wants to create change by altering the environment, not the people in it.
Her entire platform is built upon celebrating differences and making it easier for people to live their authentic lives. Meanwhile, Trump’s MAGA seems to want a change that relies on exclusion and crafting a strict idea of what it means to be American in 2024. That strategy might have worked in 2016 but almost a decade has passed since then. Thanks to the rise of TikTok, and other global social media platforms, more and more women are finding spaces to amplify their voices and speak out against sexism.
No longer settling for the glass-ceiling or putting women on pedestals, the tides of culture and politics are clearly shifting. In a world where Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS’ album exists, the Eras Tour has become a cultural phenomenon, and Margot Robbie produced one of the highest-grossing films in history, do we really believe that MAGA’s words will have the same impact as before?
Our answer is a resounding hell no.
The need for a female president
In a country where women’s rights are by no means secure, having a female president would change the game dramatically. Women across the country would gain better representation through the highest position of power in US politics.
Across US politics, female representation is not up to scratch. In Congress, only 28% of representatives are female, which does not match up with half of the population. In state-wide executives, only 31.9% of those positions are filled by women. Having a female president is imperative to helping encourage changes to the unequal representation in American political offices. Harris would encourage more women to stand for office, as well as breaking the stereotypes of women in positions of power that prevent people from voting them in.
Having a female president would also be beneficial in the long term for women’s rights on issues such as abortion. Under Trump’s previous presidency, three Supreme Court Justices were appointed, all of whom represent more conservative ideologies. These ideologies often focus on a more literal interpretation of the constitution, which does not include extending rights protections that are not explicit. Trump’s appointments secured a conservative majority on the court (6-3) and helped enact the overturning of Roe vs Wade, in Dobbs vs Jackson back in 2022.
This case then removed the federal right to abortion access, allowing states to determine abortion laws. Since then a wave of pro-life movements have swept the country, leading to 22 states banning abortion or issuing earlier time restrictions. This ruling and the ideology of the court have removed women’s choice and control over their bodies.
While Trump is sometimes unclear on his pro-life stance, he is predominantly in favour of states determining their own reproductive rights. The GOP party platform states that, because of Trump’s previous actions, the power to determine laws on this issue has been rightfully returned to the states and to the people. Harris, on the other hand, has always taken a pro-choice stance, and as a Congresswoman she successfully challenged Brett Kavanaugh on his stance upon his nomination to the Supreme Court.
After a back and forth, Kavanaugh told Harris, “I’m not thinking of any right now, senator.”
Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Hearing, September 2018
It is believed that if Trump was to gain a second term, Supreme Court Justices may possibly resign due to illness or tactical reasons. This would enable Trump to issue his ideological control over the court in nominations once again, and this impact is long-lasting due to the life appointments. This could encourage decisions that further erode women’s rights, such as contraception, or other liberal rights such as gay marriage.
Therefore, having Kamala Harris as a female president campaigning on this platform would be essential in preventing this occurrence. She may even have an opportunity to rebalance the Supreme Court if given the opportunity, which could help make their movements more judicial and less political. The Supreme Court, while being lawful, is highly guided by political ideologies, thus maintaining a balance of either side is essential.
Women’s control over their own bodies needs to go forward and not backwards; with Trump we risk women’s issues turning backwards even further.
Defeating Project 2025
Harrua also stands as a chance of defeating the dangerous ‘Project 2025’. This is a ‘wish list’ of policies set out if Trump was to be elected, from an ultra-conservative think tank. While Trump has repeatedly disputed claims he was involved in or will implement this project if elected, it is nevertheless concerning that something like this may occur.
Some of their main policies threaten American democracy. They encourage an extension of the power of the President over other institutions when it comes to policy, which would challenge the nature of the checks and balance system that is fundamental to American Democracy. Their policies include further reductions to abortion access, moving away from clean energy back to oil and gas as well as ending diversity and inclusion programs in American schools.
While not all of these correlate directly against the GOP Party platform, there are similar themes. It is also difficult to tell at this time whether Trump would stick with the party platform or push for more radical ideas upon re-election.
What she stands for
In response to Project 2025 and the GOP’s party platform, Harris has a very different policy stance.
On the economy, in a recent speech, she disclosed how she favours the state having a more active role in supporting families. Some of her proposed policies include support for down payments on houses, child tax credit for families, as well as control over prices to lower inflation. She has also promised to extend Biden’s commitment to capping the cost of essential medicines such as insulin, which aligns with the party’s long-term commitment to improving healthcare access.
Other stances on issues have been outlined in the Democratic Party’s Policy Platform, which was written before Biden withdrew his nomination. This includes being in favour of tighter gun control legislation, extending and protecting LGBTQ+ rights, increasing the minimum wage and investing more into cleaner energy sources.
While on many issues she has united the party together, during her nomination speech at the Democratic Party Convention, the subject of the conflict in Gaza turned heads in the public. While she condoned the violence facing Palestinians and the horrors occurring in Gaza, there was a sustained commitment to the security of Israel.
“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself’
“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”
Kamala Harris – Democratic Party Convention August 2024
In the lead-up to the Democratic Party Convention, Pro-Palestine and anti-war groups protested for several days. They urged the party to include a ‘Palestinian voice’ and to change their stances on arming Israel and ending the war. The party and Harris did not issue a direct response to these groups and instead maintained their previous stance.
The risk with this is that the progressives and the left within her party and the public may struggle with this stance. As we have seen this year, with student protests cropping up all across America, this issue is proving to be highly emotive and divisive within American politics.
Campaign successes, can she do it?
Once Biden announced he was stepping down as nominee, Harris’s campaign went through the roof. It is now estimated she has raised more than $500 million in her campaign. In the first 24 hours of her announcement, it was reported a record-breaking $81 million was given in donations to her campaign.
As well as having gained a financial advantage, Harris has achieved famous endorsements and taken social media by storm. American celebrities such as John Legend and George Clooney were hot off the press to publicly endorse her. She also saw support from a range of strong female artists, especially on her stance of standing up for reproductive rights. This includes rapper Cardi B and singer Olivia Rodrigo, who have used their platforms to call out the importance of defeating Trump.
Kamala has now officially become the face of ‘Brat Summer’, after English musician Charli XCX posted ‘kamala IS brat’ on X (formerly Twitter). Named after her new album titled ‘brat’, the idea of Brat Summer became a massive trend on social media. Harris’s campaign took this in their stride and even changed their campaign background and font to match the album design.
kamala IS brat
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
This has captured the engagement of Gen Z, with social media strongly supporting her nomination and making supporting her a ‘trend’. With high numbers of grassroot donations and a wave of strong voter registration: Harris is clearly driving the youth to become connected with politics.
But the most notable endorsement occurred after the TV debate with Trump and Harris – from none other than the major popstar, Taylor Swift. While this endorsement was expected, the large fan base Swift has built, due to her record breaking Era’s tour, has aided Harris’s campaign. Just a day after the endorsement, over 300,000 of Swift’s followers had followed the link to voter registration that the singer had posted. Her fans have clearly been inspired by her announcement, which will most likely encourage her fans to pledge their support for Harris and Walz.
In comparison to the last female presidential nominee, it seems Kamala’s chances are much better. Harris has faced fewer media attacks and tailored hate, which Clinton was heavily faced with. However, Harris has also positioned her campaign differently, placing an emphasis on her policies rather than her gender, which some criticised Clinton for as being one of her major pitfalls.
Harris has the donors rolling in and the support to go with that, but can she actually claim victory? Current polling suggests that she can, as she is taking the lead over Trump. On popularity polls produced by 538, Trump has a 9.6+ unfavourable rating among American’s, while Harris only has a 1.7+ unfavourable rating. In election forecasts, produced by the Economist, Harris is in the lead by around three percentage points. This suggests her campaign success could bring her victory.
Will becoming President ensure policy success?
Anyone who follows American politics knows how difficult change can be. Under their codified constitution, the principle of checks and balances and the separation of powers prevents power from being concentrated in the hands of only one body. This means that Congress, the Supreme Court and the Executive body (the President), all exercise their power separately whilst balancing and holding each other to account.
Any President who steps into office is limited by the makeup of these other bodies as it impacts how they function under these checks and balances. If Harris was elected, one of her main challenges would be the Supreme Court due to its Conservative majority that does not align with her main policies. For example, on gun control and abortion Rights, she may find herself up against challenges from the final court of appeal on any legislation or executive actions passed.
A further hurdle comes from Congress, the legislative branch of American government. Since Congress is made up of both the Senate and the House of Representatives which are elected separately to the President, this can result in gridlock. This occurs when the different chambers have a different party control, or the President is a member of a different party to the parties in control of Congress.
The current party makeup of Congress has a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican majority in the House. This has an opportunity to change during the November elections. Since legislation issued by either chamber or the president needs to pass through both houses, the party composition of the chambers really impacts the power a President or potential President would have.
For Harris, trying to achieve change on issues such as abortion through Congress will be difficult, especially if there is a Republican-controlled chamber. The Supreme Court and its 6-3 Conservative majority also serve as another limit. Essentially, if she was to get in power, real change on some of her most popular policies could still be far from occurring.
Will the Vice-President’s star continue to rise in the autumn?
Brat summer might be over, but Harris and her bid to become the next American president are just getting started. Her campaign is going to have to work ten times as hard to ensure that in the weeks leading up to the election, she is in prime position to defeat Trump. Harris has the financial backing, the social media following, and the political expertise – but when November comes, she will have to see if she has sufficiently connected with voters across the country. On the ballot paper, it will not be her PR team nor her many celebrity endorsements. It will just be Kamala Harris, but will that be enough?
The road ahead is not easy. There will be countless obstacles, attempted scandals, and most likely, blatant misinformation, thrown in the Vice-President’s way. The most important task for her is to stay focused on her mission and make sure that she keeps her voters top of mind. Not an easy task, when you have a former President accusing people of eating cats and dogs. Whether it is addressing the heart of key battleground states like Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, or being a role-model for young women of colour, she has to make sure she remains authentic to herself. Certainly not an easy task, when Trump thrives on drama and pomp. None of this is easy, but Harris is a fantastic candidate for the job, because she is fierce and unwielding. She will not back down from a challenge, as we saw in her debate with Trump, and she will continue to speak louder and more resiliently where needed.
As we have outlined, there is an incredible amount of division within American politics, both within and across party lines. The war in Gaza, protecting abortion rights, and what being American really means in 2024, will not be easy topics to navigate. They demand grit and thorough consideration, not simply short audio-bites. Thus, Harris will have to get clear on her policy platform and show that she might be a social media star, but she is also at the heart of it all, a deeply intelligent policymaker. Navigating that all-too fine line between being approachable and charming, yet remaining intelligent and strategic will be one of the biggest challenges for her.
She has already had a strong start at differentiating herself from Biden, but she will need to continue to do so. Paying homage to his legacy is very different from seeming to be a direct continuation of his tenure. In addition, as we have discussed in great detail, what her role as the first female President would symbolise. However, it is yet to be seen if Harris will actually be able to install the change she has so beautifully described. Women in politics are crucial, not because we need them to increase previously abysmal numbers or because it looks good on paper, but simply due to the fact that millions of women are being under-represented. If Harris wins, thanks to her stance on protecting rights such as universal access to abortion, then she will need to make sure that she genuinely delivers on those promises.
That in turn requires not only a reimagining but an actual reconstruction of the political environment in Washington D.C. and the rest of the country. A world built not on gridlock, fierce competition, or intense partisanship, but mutual collaboration and cooperation. This means that she will need to get not only Republican politicians onboard, who will have just lost the election in this scenario, but upset Republican voters, who are worried about how loudly their voices will be heard in her presidency.
How she will create these bridges, without sacrificing her own values or authenticity, will perhaps require an almost mathematical sort of thinking. But the good news is that it is possible. History shows us that Americans can come together, when needed, to defend not only their rights as citizens, but the importance of their freedom to peacefully debate and disagree. We do not live in a perfect world and one election cannot solve the deep suffering that is taking place across the world. To ignore this would be foolish.
Whilst Kamala Harris might not be able to save America from all of its troubles, she can begin to save the little fragments of bipartisanship and genuine understanding that it has left. We might not see the final garden in our lifetime, but at least we can begin to plant the seeds for future generations to come. Rewriting the future of America will require rewiring the politics of our present.
