Tuesday 23 July 2024

Will Americans vote for a black woman to be president?

It has to be asked. Kamala Harris is going to be the Democratic nominee after Joe Biden's pull-out and she has a lot going for her. She's 59, nearly 20 years younger than Donald Trump, she has the experience of being the vice president for more than three years, she has the vast majority of Democrats endorsing her and she looks great. The fact that she is a woman of colour should make no difference but there may be a significant percentage of American voters who are not yet ready to choose a black woman for president. Well, they voted for Barack Obama, the first black male president, so why not a black woman? To put it simply, it's because the new Democratic nominee-designate is black AND a woman. I don't know whether to describe this challenge for some American voters as evidence of racial prejudice or just plain "not in my lifetime thank you". It will be a problem for Kamala Harris, but with such resounding support for her in the Democratic party, it's a challenge she should be able to overcome. But she will have to perform much much better than any man would have to when faced with Trump as an adversary. It's totally unfair but realistic. There is enough misogeny around to make it difficult for her as she campaigns around the country. I would like to nsay how brilliant it would be if she chose a woman to be herrunning-mate but I guess that really would be too much for many male voters, and probably female ones too in parts of the country. But I have to say I don't see a potential president among the would-be male vice president short lists doing the rounds.

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