Kamala Harris's popularity surges amid petty criticism from Trump and his misogynist minions

Within hours of U.S. President Joe Biden announcing that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, the predictable backlash began.

Her political opponents (and those who support them) started questioning her credentials, her intelligence, her morals and her record as a former district attorney and attorney general. Donald Trump called her “dumb as a rock” which is bold for a man who’s delivered some of the most incoherent, unhinged speeches the western world has ever known. They accused Harris of sleeping her way to the top. And, eventually, they brought up her childless status, with Trump’s VP pick J.D. Vance deriding Harris as a “childless cat lady.” Because we all know women were first and foremost meant to breed and what are we even doing taking up oxygen if motherhood hasn’t been checked on our list of accomplishments?

A woman’s laughter aggravates, once again

And finally (predictably), they brought up her laugh. “Cackling Kamala” is what she was called by Trump. “Have you ever watched her laugh? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh… She is nuts,” Trump recently said.

Sebastian Gorka, who served in the Trump administration, said Harris “cackles like an insane woman.”

She’s been called “Laughing Harris” repeatedly, as if a loud, rambunctious, happy belly laugh is one of the worst things a politician can be accused of. (Personally, “rapist” comes to mind.) Of course, the mocking moniker implies that she’s silly, inconsequential, unserious. A lightweight. A politician with no gravitas and no substance.

“(Her) laugh is the biggest, destructive, negative force probably ever unleashed in American politics,” said The Daily Telegraph‘s Tim Blair, who must have been in a coma on January 6, 2021, when the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters. Really? Harris’s laugh is the most destructive force you can think of in the U.S. right now? Not the hate, incivility and division Trump’s campaign has sown?

“No one’s voting for the laugh,” Blair insisted.

We’ll see about that, Tim.

Sexism in politics is alive and well

This curious obsession with her laughter isn’t benign. It’s purposeful, and it’s part of a long-established pattern of personal attacks against female politicians that have nothing to do with their political record, and everything to do with their demeanour, their looks and the way that they carry themselves.

The truth is those disinclined to vote for a female candidate can be appeased by nothing and aggravated by everything. When women politicians don’t smile, they’re accused of being too serious, too detached, too cold, too calculating. When they laugh a little too much, apparently that’s not good either.

When they get loud and heated, they’re told they’re too angry, too shrill, too emotional. When male politicians yell, they’re seen as passionate and driven. There’s a tightrope female politicians need to constantly walk between too little and too much if they can hope to garner support. They need to be seen as strong, but they can’t afford for that strength to prevent them from being liked.

Even with an impressive resume, Hillary Clinton was accused of being too cold, too robotic, too ambitious. The words used to describe her voice were relentlessly sexist. She sounds “like a nagging wife,” said one political commentator. “When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear, ‘Take out the garbage.’” Unsurprisingly, her laugh was a crowd displeaser, too. The New York Times wrote about the “Clinton cackle.” In hindsight, and regardless of whether or not one agrees with her politics, she clearly warned us about Trump, but some of you were apparently more bothered by her delivery than what she was actually telling us.

Harris’s base is energized and ready to fight back

If Kamala Harris is nominated (the virtual vote for the nomination could very well happen in early August), the 59-year-old Black-South Asian politician would make history as the first woman of colour to become a major party nominee. Harris not only has the credentials, but she’s been battle-tested, with years as a public prosecutor under her belt in a white-dominated, male-dominated professional political culture. She knows the ropes — don’t let the giggles fool you.

Sexists perhaps see a woman enthusiastically talking about food (one of my favourite videos of her is where she casually shares a recipe for Thanksgiving turkey with a journalist during a 90-second break between filming TV interviews before immediately switching to a serious tone as the cameras go live), dancing and chuckling loudly, and think she’s just a silly woman doing silly things that can’t be taken seriously.

But here’s what I think.

While some believe the Democratic party will be taking a historic gamble if it makes Vice President Kamala Harris its presidential candidate, betting that a Black and South Asian woman can overcome the double whammy of racism and sexism, I’m actually convinced the time has finally come for it to happen.

Harris is competent and endorsed by all the heavy hitters. She’s a vibrant and energetic presence, making her opponent appear frail, old and fumbling in comparison. More women than ever are starting to realize that their reproductive rights have been decimated under Trump. I think that everything has finally aligned for the U.S. to see its first female leader.

The possibility of another Trump presidency is so stark, so unappealing, so dangerous for the future of democracy and women’s rights in the U.S. that those slightly hesitant to vote for her, or for any woman president, may realize they don’t have the option to endlessly waffle anymore. Four in five Americans already fear the country is sliding into chaos. The record-setting donations — $81-million in 24 hours — that poured into the Democratic Party as soon as Biden stepped down and Kamala’s name started being thrown into the ring shows there is substantial grassroots enthusiasm for a competent, younger candidate. Many voters were just looking for a reason to vote for someone other than Trump and now they have it.

Unless something completely unpredictable happens to change the current groundswell of support coming from all progressive circles, I think Harris will make history in November. “Cackling Kamala” may very well have the last laugh. ■

This article was originally published in the Aug. 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

Read more weekly editorial columns by Toula Drimonis.