For the past couple of months, current Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris has done something with her marketing campaign only a few have successfully done in the past: advertise to the newest generation of voters. And while these few have had younger generations back them in past elections, I don’t think we’ve seen anything come close to the amount of support Gen Z has been giving Kamala Harris this election season.
It’s usually difficult for presidential candidates to connect with younger voters, but for Harris, it seems to come naturally, especially after Charli xcx tweeted on X saying she’s “brat.” From that moment forward, Kamala Harris has risen to “brat” status on several social media platforms.
Harris’ marketing team has recognized that more and more people have shifted away from getting their news from professional news outlets, especially younger generations. As a result, they’ve reached young audiences through platforms they’re more likely to see. And an interview with none other than Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy, was sure to turn some heads. So, with that being said, I’d like to point out some of the main highlights of the interview.
Alex Cooper’s Disclaimer
Alex Cooper starts out the episode by saying how she usually doesn’t have political guests or even talk politics on her podcast because she wants her show to be something “everyone feels comfortable tuning into.” Despite this, Newsweek comments that the podcast host lost around 5,000 followers just on her personal account, not to mention the comments suggesting that her move was “propaganda.”
Influential Women
Alex points out that one of the main conversations in this election is women, so instead of asking about typical topics such as the economy, border control, or fracking, questions about women’s rights in our country seemed more relevant to her. One of those questions happened to be about Harris’ relationship with her mother and what it was like for her growing up. Harris shared about life growing up with her mom and two younger sisters. She said that from a young age, she learned agency through her mother. Instead of asking Harris, “What happened?” when she was upset, her mother would ask, “What did you do?” teaching her to think about what she could have done differently in her actions.
Humility
Later on in the interview, Cooper brings up the recent backlash Harris has been facing, where critics have claimed she doesn’t have “anything keeping her humble.” As Harris calls it, she has a very modern relationship with her husband, his ex-wife, and their kids. And Mom-ala (yes, her kids really do call her this) is, in fact, very humble, not just because of her kids but also because she has a lot of love in her life. She also remarks that “it’s not the 1950s,” and women don’t need to aspire to be humble.
Abortion laws
Cooper and Harris then dive into a discussion about current abortion laws and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Vice President clarifies that every state in the South except Virginia has an abortion ban. So, what does this mean for women? It means more and more women’s health clinics in these areas are closing, which happen to be places women feel most comfortable getting pap smears, breast cancer screenings, and HIV testing, to name a few things. So not only are women having less control over their bodies, but they also have less access to trusted health care.
Harris also shared that you shouldn’t have to abandon your personal or religious beliefs to agree that what happens to a woman’s body shouldn’t be in the hands of the government. I honestly think some of the most powerful words shared by the Vice President in this interview are as follows:
“Ok, so you believe there’s an exception that a person should receive abortion care if the life of the mother is at risk. You know what that means in practical terms? She’s almost dead before you decide to give her care.
It’s astonishing to think that the government is quite literally telling women that ‘we don’t care about your body until you’re knocking on death’s door.’”
More to come?
As we wrap up this campaign season and get ready for the upcoming election day, I’m sure we’ll see more from both parties. We may even see Donald Trump on the podcast, as Alex Cooper invited him to join her on Call Her Daddy to talk about women’s rights at the end of the episode. Whatever’s to come, make sure you’re staying informed so you can do your part in making a change by using your right to vote.
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