How is Kamala Harris doing in the 2024 presidential election?
Photo Source: Kamala Harris, Photo Edit: Sabaitide
We’re a week away from election day. Let’s also explore the controversy and criticism surrounding each candidate.
Vice President Kamala Harris currently holds the second highest office in the nation, and if elected next week, she will make history as the first Black and Asian American female president of the United States. Please read that again, we can potentially live to witness the first female president of the United States ever, a glass ceiling that has not been broken yet.
Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election, has served as the Vice President of the United States over the last four years under President Joe Biden, another female first achieved by Harris. Her 2024 presidential campaign unofficially began when President Biden dropped out of the election on July 21st 2024 (Miller et al.). After the following month, Harris officially accepted her party’s nomination at the DNC on August 22nd (Osterman et al.), only eleven short weeks away from election day.
Since the hard launch of her campaign, Harris has received a momentous wave of support. Her early supporters included at least 44,000 organized Black women over Zoom just days after Biden’s announcement (Haines and Gerson). Harris has also received online support from political influencers like Deja Foxx, a Gen Z reproductive rights activist and one of the youngest staffers on Harris’ first presidential campaign in 2019, as well as Annie Wu 22, a digital media specialist and political activist who connects with her captivated audience through her bold personality and love of memes. A growing number of iconic celebrities have also publicly endorsed Harris like Beyoncé, Charlie XCX, and Taylor Swift to name a few.
But is that enough momentum to win the presidential race?
Photo Source: 270towin.com
As of this last weekend, both presidential candidates were tied for the popular vote at 48% according to the final New York Times national poll (Reuters). On the other hand, the Electoral College seems to lean Democratic at 226 votes, just 44 votes away from a possible Harris presidency (270towin.com). However, regardless of how the polls or media coverage or the comments section on social media may seem right now, we won’t know the official results of the election until after November 5th, leaving the fate of our future up to ordinary voters like you and I who cannot afford to not vote. Voting is how we can participate in democracy, but choosing who to vote for may be difficult for undecided voters who are skeptical of both presidential candidates.
Both candidates have a surprising amount controversy and criticism surrounding them, and the 2024 presidential debate that took place on September 10th was the first opportunity for the candidates to clarify their stances on serious issues and for world to compare both Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump on stage. From NPR’s main takeaways from the presidential debate, it is noted that, “with a more-than-competent performance from Harris Tuesday, Trump’s lies, meandering, conspiracies and often general incoherence was made even more glaring. . . but the political reality is Harris could still lose” (Montanaro). Now, with election day just around the corner, we are facing two very possible alternate futures, and each one is filled with a sizable amount of disappointment regardless of the outcome.
Donald Trump Controversy
Although Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate running for a third time now, has had a long history of saying and doing discriminatory things towards several different marginalized people groups including immigrants, LGBTQ people, and women, Trump still holds an alarming amount of support despite his controversy. His supporters make up a sizable percentage of the population that can somehow justify his pathological lies and glaring red flags, including but not limited to his 34 felony counts of falsified business records and liability for sexual abuse and defamation, due to wanting to uphold conservative values and being dissatisfied in the Democratic Party.
However, the possibility of a second Trump presidency will certainly be challenging and potentially hostile for the people in our community here at Overachiever Magazine, an online community for those who find themselves at the intersections of HAAPI (Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Islander), women, and/or LGBTQ identities.
AAPI Community — Trump recently hosted a rally in Las Vegas targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander voters where The Nevada Independent reports that, “Trump repeated the phrase ‘China virus,’ saying it’s what he called COVID-19. . . studies suggest that Trump’s 2020 use of phrases such as ‘China virus’ contributed to that year’s rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and xenophobia” (Aldrete and Birenbaum).
According to NBC News, “it’s the kind of language that studies say precipitated a dramatic increase in anti-Asian hate and violence during the pandemic and in the years since” (Venkatraman). To use this phrase repeatedly at a rally targeting AAPI voters is both offensive and discriminatory, and this action is a stark reminder to AAPI voters that Trump does not care to deescalate the xenophobia associated with the phrase.
Reproductive Justice — During Trump’s presidency, PBS News reports that, “Former President Donald Trump praised himself and the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022” (Kemp), a decision made by six Supreme Court Justices that has ultimately led to a series of state abortion bans across the country that has forced women to fight for reproductive justice and the right to make decisions about their own bodies. These decisions are now being made by people who do not know much about abortion, including Donald Trump himself.
Vogue writes, “Trump’s record of — let’s call them what they are — absolutely unhinged comments about abortion have been well-documented, but his first presidential debate with vice president and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris represented a new low” in reference to his comments about late-term abortions where he famously talked about “executing babies” (Specter). Although Trump has been fact-checked several times over on this matter, his wildfire spread of misinformation is damaging to women and their reproductive rights. As a result of overturning Roe, there are currently 13 states where abortion is illegal and an additional 15 states where it is hostile or not protected (Center for Reproductive Rights), and Trump’s continual misinformation about the matter will only make it tougher for women to reverse his impact.
LGBTQ Rights — As for the LQBTQ community, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Trump has promised that, if reelected, his administration will rescind federal policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and will assert that federal civil rights laws don’t cover anti-LGBTQ discrimination” (American Civil Liberties Union).
During the 2024 election season, we’ve also witnessed Trump weaponize transphobia like never before. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that, “Former President Donald Trump has released two national ads focused on Vice President Kamala Harris’ support of transgender people. Both end with the tagline, ‘Kamala’s for they/them, President Trump is for you’” (Allday). They/them pronouns are commonly used by nonbinary individuals who do not identify with a specific gender and choose to express their individuality without the use of he/she pronouns. However, in the context of Trump’s transphobic ads, it twists the intention of they/them pronouns and ultimately alienates nonbinary and transgender people, as well as the rest of the LGBTQ community.
Kamala Harris Criticism
On the other hand, the Democratic Party presents Kamala Harris as a better ally for marginalized voters and a more promising presidential candidate for hope, however, Harris has received even more criticism across both sides of the aisle even while Donald Trump simply has only “concepts of a plan” to offer. Some of the criticism Harris has received comes from voters who would historically be in Harris’ corner, but unfortunately, Harris’ inactions as Vice President on key issues has discouraged undecided voters who still have unanswered concerns. Identity politics, celebrity endorsements, and quite frankly, even Donald Trump’s cringeworthy series of unhinged comments and blatant lies, may still not be enough for Harris to reach voters across the spectrum and could potentially cost her the election.
Harris has had a relatively short amount of time to really differentiate herself from Biden in the 2024 presidential election, but at the same time, she has had an entire career as a Prosecutor, an Attorney General, and a US Senator to demonstrate her character and where she stands on a number of issues. Harris has also held the second highest office as the Vice President for four years now, so the question becomes why didn’t she take action on these issues sooner? Change should happen now. Why do we have to wait for a potential Harris presidency for results? And will she deliver?
Ceasefire in Gaza — A lot of Harris’ online criticism comes from activists on social media who have demanded a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and are upset with the Biden-Harris administration for supporting Israel, especially when the “right to defend itself” has resulted in the merciless genocide of the Palestinian people. October 7th of last year marked the start of the Israel-Gaza War, where age old tensions in the region were now brought to the world’s attention after Hamas “killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza” (Reuters).
During the presidential debate, almost a year into the horrendous conflict, Harris reiterated her support for Israel when she says, “let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself" (Diaz). This statement, however, completely disregards the cries and concerns of hundreds of thousands of humanitarian activists across the internet and around the world who have been calling on world leaders for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza over the last year because the right to defend oneself should not justify the genocide of the Palestinian people where Reuters reports that, “nearly 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza. . . and most of the 2.3-million-strong population displaced” (Reuters).
In her presidential campaign, Harris’ hope is “that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination” (BBC). However, her pageantry promise is a tone-deaf response to the continual suffering of millions of Palestinian people who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid and world intervention. Many believe that the Biden-Harris administration could have helped to end the conflict, but has failed to do so.
Healthcare for Transgender Inmates — The Trump campaign has recently released an ad that weaponizes transphobia and criticizes Harris for extending government paid gender-affirming healthcare to transgender and immigrant inmates. According to FactCheck.org, “the U.S. Constitution requires that the government provide needed medical care for prisoners, according to a 1976 Supreme Court ruling. Transgender inmates in federal and state prisons have argued in court that this includes providing medically necessary gender-affirming care” (Yandell). The article further explains that, “Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support in a 2019 questionnaire for ‘medically necessary’ gender-affirming care” (Yandell).
The article was later updated on October 18th to add a new statement from Harris made during a Fox News interview that addressed her stance on the matter where she clarifies, “‘I will follow the law, and it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed,’ Harris said, likely referring to legal requirements that the government provide medical care to prisoners, including necessary gender-affirming care. ‘You’re probably familiar with — now it’s a public report — that under Donald Trump’s administration, these surgeries were available to, on a medical necessity basis, to people in the federal prison system. And I think frankly that ad from the Trump campaign is a little bit of like throwing, you know, stones when you’re living in a glass house’” (Yandell).
Even though Harris has clarified her stance and reasoning behind this concern, the criticism circulated by Donald Trump’s political ad has stoked even more transphobia and a fear of immigrants by connecting these people groups with inmates. Through this low blow, Trump’s campaign has sown a deep sense of doubt in a possible Harris administration by questioning how Harris would allocate government funding if extending government paid gender-affirming treatments to inmates is permitted, even when it’s their constitutional right.
Conclusion
As the Editor-in-Chief of a magazine created for those who find themselves at the intersections of HAAPI (Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Islander), women, and/or LGBTQ identities, I felt responsible to write this piece in the wake of the 2024 presidential election. One, due to Kamala Harris being the first Black and Asian American female presidential candidate in the United States of America, and two, to explore the implications of two very possible alternate futures that could potentially affect those in our online community. While this analysis by no means covers everything on the table, I have done my best at being thorough, yet to the point. This conclusion reflects my own thoughts and does not necessarily represent Overachiever Magazine as a whole nor does it represent all HAAPI women, non-binary people, and other gender minorities in our community.
You are welcome to come to your own conclusion because we are all very different people with different backgrounds and beliefs, which is the beauty of diversity, but personally, as an American-born Asian woman and a daughter of immigrants whose childhood trauma was not knowing who my real father was until I was twenty and no one told me that he was gay, I don’t have the privilege to not vote when the right to make decisions about my own body and the rights and liberties of my LGBTQ peers are in jeopardy. Although I do live in California, consider myself a Christian, and am currently pregnant and actively thinking about how I am going to raise my child, I understand why many people are reluctant to support Harris and I share similar concerns and apathy despite also being a woman of color myself.
But at the same time, I simply cannot ignore Trump’s ongoing discriminatory comments, pathological lies, and other glaring red flags that clearly exemplify sociopathic behavior. I feel like this is too dangerous to ignore, and I cannot fathom if that wasn’t already a dealbreaker to anyone who is still undecided, leaning right, or refusing to vote at all. Considering Trump’s controversy and audacity, it seems like it takes so little damage for a woman like Kamala Harris to be painted as a bad lady, yet so little done for a man like Donald Trump to be forgiven as a good man. Voting for the “lesser of two evils” so to speak, is not turning a blind eye to the controversy surrounding each candidate. We all have the responsibility to vote, but I need assurances from the future president that they can carryout a progressive agenda that protects the rights of marginalized people groups and creates opportunities for me and my child through real actions and policies, not on promises alone.
What are your thoughts about the 2024 presidential election? What do you think about a possible Harris presidency?
Submit your opinion in the Letter to the Editor section.
Works Cited
“2024 Presidential Election Interactive Map.” 270 to Win, 26 Oct. 2024, https://www.270towin.com. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
“Abortion laws by state.” Center for Reproductive Rights, https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
ACLU. “Trump on LGBTQ rights: Rolling back protections and criminalizing gender nonconformity.” ACLU, 13 Jun. 2024, https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/trump-on-lgbtq-rights-rolling-back-protections-and-criminalizing-gender-nonconformity. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Aldrete, Isabella, and Gabby Birenbaum. “Four takeaways from Trump’s AAPI voter-focused rally in Vegas.” The Nevada Independent, 24 Oct. 2024, https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/four-takeaways-from-trumps-aapi-voter-focused-rally-in-vegas. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Allday, Erin. “Transphobia is a big part of Donald Trump’s closing argument.” San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Oct. 2024, https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/trump-republican-trans-ads-19832563.php. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Bahadur, Nina. “22 Sexist Things President Donald Trump Has Said About Women.” Self, 29 Jun. 2017, https://www.self.com/story/sexist-president-donald-trump-comments. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
BBC. “Where Kamala Harris stands on 10 key issues, from immigration to guns.” BBC, 23 Oct. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx924r4d5yno. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Beyoncé. “Beyoncé delivers powerful speech at rally with VP Kamala Harris in Houston.” YouTube, 27 Oct. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQ23AOTTSk. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Breen, Kerry. “Who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and who voted to uphold it.” Today, 24 Jun. 2022, https://www.today.com/news/news/scotus-justices-roe-wade-abortion-votes-rcna35229. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Bustillo, Ximena, and Hilary Fung. “Trump is found guilty on 34 felony counts. Read the counts here.” NPR, 30 May. 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/05/30/g-s1-1848/trump-hush-money-trial-34-counts. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Diaz, Jaclyn. “Harris says Israel 'has right to defend itself,' Palestinians need 'dignity, security.'" NPR, 23 Aug. 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/08/23/g-s1-19232/kamala-harris-israel-gaza-dnc. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Foxx, Deja: Video of Deja Foxx endorsing Kamala Harris for president. Instagram, 2 Aug. 2024, https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-K9LulJi_U/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Haines, Errin, and Jennifer Gerson. “Four hours, 44,000 Black women and one Zoom call.” 19th News, 23 Jul. 2024, https://19thnews.org/2024/07/win-with-black-women-zoom-call-harris-organizers/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Herman, Alice. “‘They’re eating the cats’: Trump rambles falsely about immigrants in debate.” The Guardian, 10 Sep. 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/10/trump-springfield-pets-false-claims. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Holden, Dominic. “We made a list of all the anti-LGBT stuff Trump has done as president.” Buzzfeed News, 30 Jun. 2018, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/trump-lgbt-anti-actions-administration-pride-month. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Kemp, Adam. “WATCH: Trump praises ‘heart and strength’ of Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade.” PBS News, 10 Sep. 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-praises-heart-and-strength-of-supreme-court-for-overturning-roe-v-wade. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Kratz, Julie. “Practice allyship to fight the bias Kamala Harris will face as a presidential candidate.” Forbes, 23, Jul. 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliekratz/2024/07/23/practice-allyship-to-fight-the-bias-kamala-harris-will-face-as-a-presidential-candidate/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Levin, Bess. “Surprise: Trump, a pathological liar, reportedly asked his lawyer to lie to the government about his classified-documents cache.” Vanity Fair, 4 Oct. 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/10/donald-trump-alex-cannon-classified-documents. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Miller et al. “Biden drops out of 2024 race after disastrous debate inflamed age concerns. VP Harris gets his nod.” AP News, 21 Jul. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/biden-drops-out-2024-election-ddffde72838370032bdcff946cfc2ce6. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Montanaro, Domenico. “The debate between Harris and Trump wasn’t close — and 4 other takeaways.” NPR, 11 Sep. 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/g-s1-22023/debate-harris-trump-takeaways. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Murray, Conor. “Charli XCX embraces Kamala Harris ‘Brat’ memes: ‘Happy to help to prevent democracy from failing.” Forbes, 26 Aug. 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/08/26/charli-xcx-embraces-kamala-harris-brat-memes-happy-to-help-to-prevent-democracy-from-failing/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Nehamas et al. “Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris.” New York Times, 10 Sep. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/us/taylor-swift-endorses-kamala-harris.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Neumeister et al. “Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5M.” AP News, 9 May. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Osterman et al. “DNC: Harris formally accepts party’s nomination - as it happened.” Reuters, 22 Aug. 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/kamala-harris/dnc-live-kamala-harris-address-democratic-national-convention-2024-08-22/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Reuters. “Harris, Trump tied for popular vote, final NYT polls shows.” Reuters, 25 Oct. 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-trump-tied-popular-vote-final-nyt-polls-shows-2024-10-25/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Reuters. “How the world is marking Oct. 7 attack on Israel, start of Gaza war.” Reuters, 7 Oct. 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-world-is-marking-oct-7-attack-israel-start-gaza-war-2024-10-07/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Specter, Emma. “An OB-GYN fact-checks Trump’s claims about abortion during the first presidential debate.” Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024, https://www.vogue.com/article/ob-gyn-fact-checks-trumps-claims-about-abortion-first-presidential-debate.
Venkatraman, Sakshi. “Trump invokes economy, public safety and 'China virus' during Asian American rally in Vegas.” NBC News, 25 Oct. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/trump-asian-american-rally-vegas-rcna177308. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Wu, Annie: Post of Annie_Wu_22 with Swifts for Kamala. Instagram, 23 Oct. 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/DBeWQgvJSMW/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Yandell, Kate. “Harris’ position on health care for transgender prisoners and detainees.” FactCheck.org, 4 Oct. 2024, https://www.factcheck.org/2024/10/harris-position-on-health-care-for-transgender-prisoners-and-detainees/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
