Though most of the attention surrounding the Democratic National Convention was on how unified Democrats were and what an incredibly upbeat show they’d just presented to the American public, there was a subtext to the convention that suggests that the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign is also going after male voters in a way that’s a direct challenge to failed former president Donald Trump’s single-largest voting block: Men.
And that, according to The Bulwark’s Ilyse Hogue, is bad news for the Donald and, by extension, the entire Republican Party.
“Chicago might prove to be the key to opening that GOP lock,” Hogue explains. “From the first night’s invocation to the balloon drop after Harris’s speech, the Democratic convention featured a lineup that refused to accept the boy vs. girl frame that has come to define this year’s election. And they didn’t just seek to compete for male votes, but to reclaim masculinity itself as belonging to their party, too. “
In particular, Harris’ acceptance speech was a clear moment of outreach to male voters with references to the U.S. maintaining the “most lethal” military in the world while also going after threats here at home that could endanger the lives of children, the elderly, and the infirm. In other words, there will be consequences if someone decides to grab another American “by the pussy” as Trump bragged on the infamous “Access Hollywood” that nearly cost him the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton.
Harris’ acceptance speech had another goal, Hogue notes.
“But it was equally notable for what it didn’t contain: the demurring phrases meant to demonstrate that she’s not a threat to men or the subtle indications that she’s still a woman. Sure, Kamala cooks dinner. But she makes a crispy, sassy dosa, not chocolate chip cookies, and you better be on time. Yes, she has had a career in law. But she didn’t even have to bother defending it, as Hillary once did. Sure, abortion is top of mind, and the Vice President is an unapologetic champion of reproductive freedom. But restoring Roe was a commitment she put alongside a pledge to sign a tough border measure.”
There was also the other half of the 2024 Democratic ticket, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who spoke in terms that male voters could easily grasp.
“He sprinkled his speech with references to football plays and trophies he earned by shooting rifles, and he undergirded those endeavors with a clear directive about the responsibility that naturally accompanies them. Might and brawn mean nothing if they are not used to protect and defend—and not just your women and children, but your community and country.”
Comedian DL Hugley then shut the door on the Trump-GOP brand of masculinity, making it clear today’s Democratic Party will not concede any group of voters to the GOP, no matter how difficult the task may be.
“His remark that the rise of Republicans for Kamala meant Trump would finally know what it feels like when ‘YOU get left for a younger woman’ got uproarious applause. It also sent a signal to men that someone who punches down to lift himself up might be less of a ‘man’ than the woman on the other ticket.”
If Harris can manage to peel off as little as 5% of the men who voted for Trump in 2016 or 2020, she’ll win in a popular and electoral vote landslide. And based on what we saw at the Democratic convention, it’s safe to say she and her party know how to hit Trump where it hurts him and Republicans most.
