Opposites: Harris and Trump. Picture: AFP/ Reuters
I have been forced to eat my words. Last week I pretty much handed America’s presidency to Donald Trump.
If for no other reason than the fact that he got shot. Some people even suggested that the assassination attempt was staged for that very reason; to secure sympathy votes from the majority of those casting their ballots in November.
Plus, Joe Biden did extremely poorly in the debate against Trump, highlighting the age issue that many people have with him running for a second term. But that is not to be now, as Biden has heeded calls to step aside, allowing his deputy to be propelled into the presidential limelight.
Planned or not, Kamala Harris’s nomination was the smartest thing Biden could’ve done under the circumstances. It would’ve been virtually impossible for him to compete against the victim of an assassination attempt. Kamala stands a much better chance against Trump.
She’s a lawyer who comes with some formidable political chops, having been a senator and an attorney-general. And while Trump might be able to scoff at that, he can’t compete with her street credentials and the diversity that she represents. She is basically the American Dream personified.
The product of immigrant parents, her father is Jamaican, while she was raised by her single mom, who was Asian. She is married to a Jew, but growing up poor in a Black neighbourhood, she attended both Baptist churches and Hindu temples. She has a blended family and not only do her step children adore her, her husband’s ex-wife thinks she’s the bomb. All of this comes with the kind of empathy, compassion and humility that is foreign to a narcissist like Trump.
Kamala Harris has also seized on the topical issues that matter most to young voters. Abortion rights is something most women care about, and she is on the right side of the debate. Meanwhile Trump and his deputy both support new, highly restrictive abortion laws.
Kamala’s team is obviously also very social media savvy, seizing upon trends, before Trump’s team is even able to say TikTok. She is clearly targeting America’s young voters, especially women. And it’s working because a recent poll shows that she is the favourite by a large majority for voters aged 18 to 35.
In reality, American voters have already placed their confidence in her in other ways. They were happy to indirectly vote for her, when she ran alongside Biden. Plus, former president Barack Obama has endorsed her, which implies that all his fans will transfer their support for him, to her with their votes.
Speaking of endorsements, there is a veritable galaxy of stars lining up to throw their support and influence behind her. There’s another line of people eager to make large donations to her campaign. Besides clearly being more likeable, she is much smarter than Trump. And he has all but admitted it, by withdrawing from a debate with her. Being a black woman alone will make it hard for Trump to attack her in the way he did Biden and other white males. She is younger than him and full of energy. And she’s much better looking, which matters in a world of appearances.
Allow me a quick funny sidebar. Someone quipped in the comments section of last week’s piece that the reason why the would-be assassin managed to nick Trump’s ear, is because nobody in the crowd shouted “Donald, duck!” It’s funny on its own, but also because Trump is both an animated quack and a caricature of everything wrong with America today.
Staying with the analysis, in a world of mass media influence, Harris has a secret weapon among the youth, albeit a bit tenuous. She shares her name with a much-loved superhero – Kamala Khan, better known as Ms Marvel, which is rather apt. Oh and by the way, her second name is Devi – which is a popular Sanskrit name, meaning “goddess” or “heavenly.” And since it’s going to take divine intervention of Biblical proportions to turn that country around, I’d say that those are auspicious omens, if ever there were any.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za
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