Trump defeated Harris like Clinton: So is US sexism to blame – or bad decisions by Democrats on candidates and policy?
Two women have now lost elections to Donald Trump. That fact alone is unbelievable and enraging to Democrats across America.
Was it sexism? Misogyny? Bad candidates? Bad policies? Bad campaigning?
Those are just some of the myriad questions running wild in the Democratic Party apparatus right now, as they search for answers after the most brutal of defeats.
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Kamala Harris energised the Democratic Party this summer after Joe Biden’s horrifying debate performance.
The campaign pushed a message of joy, optimism, and hope. She catapulted engagement in Democratic politics again, leading to a surge in fundraising at the grassroots level. It simply wasn’t enough.
There is a profound reckoning over how the Democratic Party lost its broad tent appeal.
Mr Trump, the personality, won on policy, as it turned out. People voted for him in spite of him. A promise to fix the economy, to strengthen the border, to make America more isolationist. A reactionary businessman, not a measured politician, has been his overarching charm.
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Trump votes with wife Melania
Repeatedly criticised for so-called “word salads” by the right, Ms Harris struggled to articulate where she stood on major issues. Flip-flopping on whether she was tough or compassionate on immigration policy, and reversing many of her left-wing stances including banning fracking and defunding the police.
It was this indecision, in an attempt to find a middle ground, that was part of her undoing.
Harris struggled to convince voters on border security and the economy. Pic: AP
Democrats chose electability over ideology
After Mr Biden’s nomination in 2020, it was clear the party chose electability over ideology. They rejected more progressive pitches from Ms Harris, as well as left-wing poster politicians like Bernie Sanders.
There will now be internal wrestling over whether to pitch the party more to the right in the face of a second victory for Mr Trump.
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The question most in the Democratic Party don’t want to answer is: Would Mr Biden have done better than Ms Harris? Instead, they assign blame to how attached Ms Harris found herself to him on her historically short campaign trail.
Foreign wars raged on his watch. Inflation, while a global problem, spiked on his watch. Border crossings reached an all-time high on his watch.
These were all tremendous problems for Ms Harris as she tried to explain her message to voters.
Did Mr Biden stay in the race too long? Why were questions about his mental acuity covered up? And did his decision to seek a second term block the ascent of more capable candidates?
Joe Biden addresses the nation after the US Electoral College formally confirmed his victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Pic: Reuters
The search for the next Obama
Charismatic political talents have saved the Democratic Party before – in the likes of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. It’s a party now paralysed and in limbo, unable to comprehend a second Trump term and searching for the next Obama.
There are people waiting in the wings. Other contenders for 2028 are the same ones floated when Mr Biden was floundering in the summer.
They include California governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro – all of whom would need to show the party they have got the political chops to graduate from the state level to high office.
Pete Buttigieg, Mr Biden’s transport secretary, is one of the party’s most effective communicators. He was rolled out across the networks, from Fox News to the late-night shows, to campaign for Harris. But Mr Buttigieg is happily married to husband Chasten, and if America is not ready for a woman, is it ready for a gay man?
Biden, Harris and Obama. Pic: Reuters
Backlash against identity politics
Identity politics has received a backlash, not only in America but across the world. It was why, in part, we saw Ms Harris lean very lightly on her historic candidacy.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign was all about being the first female president, while Ms Harris barely mentioned it on the stump.
The Democrats will be furiously analysing that too. Was that a mistake? Would it have energised more apathetic voters in crucial swing states to see a passionate Ms Harris desperate to break the ultimate glass ceiling?
Or is it sexism rooted deep in American culture that has blocked yet another woman from gaining the White House?
