“What does it mean to say that Kamala Harris,” Maya Wiley asked. “Who has, in my calculation, worked so hard to be a unifying candidate, is still constantly blamed for falling short on something that society itself is not fixing?”
Kamala Harris is fighting on several fronts
Podcasts (Video — Audio)
Short Summary: The discussion focuses on the challenges Kamala Harris faces in connecting with young male voters, particularly young white men. Commentators argue that despite the Democratic Party‘s policies aligning with the interests of young men, such as student loan forgiveness and decriminalization of marijuana, the party has not effectively communicated its message to them. The mainstream media‘s complicity in perpetuating divisive narratives, similar to how they fueled the Obama birther movement, further exacerbates this disconnect. Maya Wiley highlights how societal issues, not Harris alone, are to blame for these divisions.
- Kamala Harris struggles to connect with young male voters, especially white men, despite policies that align with their interests.
- Donald Trump has successfully appealed to this demographic through grievance-based rhetoric.
- The media contributes to the narrative of Harris’s failure, just as it gave traction to the birther movement against Obama.
- Young men feel alienated by progressive values, particularly inclusivity issues and cancel culture.
- Maya Wiley emphasizes that societal problems, not Harris herself, are responsible for the disconnect with these voters.
The media’s failure to accurately represent Kamala Harris’s efforts and policies is reminiscent of how they enabled the birther conspiracy against Barack Obama. Rather than challenging the divisive narratives pushed by the right, the media amplifies them, leaving young men disillusioned with the Democratic Party. Progressive policies that directly benefit these men, such as student debt relief and marijuana decriminalization, are overlooked in favor of sensationalized grievances, creating an unnecessary rift in the electorate.
[ppp_patron_only level=2]
The modern political landscape in the United States continues to be shaped by narratives that emerge, not necessarily from objective facts but often from the misconceptions perpetuated by mainstream media. A particularly troubling example of this pattern involves how the media amplified and legitimized the “birther” conspiracy against Barack Obama, leading to a significant and damaging misinformation campaign. Today, a similar form of media negligence harms Vice President Kamala Harris, specifically in how certain demographics, including young men, perceive her. These media-driven distortions have far-reaching consequences on electoral politics and the broader social discourse.
The birther movement, which baselessly questioned Obama’s citizenship and eligibility to serve as president, gained enormous traction in large part due to the complicity of the mainstream media. Although the claims were debunked multiple times, media outlets continued to report on them as though they were legitimate. By giving air to these unfounded allegations, the media allowed the conspiracy to metastasize, turning what should have been a fringe idea into a mainstream political debate. The damage was palpable, as the birther movement sowed division, fueled racial tensions, and provided a gateway for far-right extremism.
I was born in the same hospital that Senator John McCain was born in, Coco Solo Hospital in the Canal Zone in Colón, Panamá. He is considered a natural-born American because his parents were American. I was a Panamanian because I was born in Panama to Panamanian parents.
Ted Cruz was born to an American mother and a Cuban father in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is considered a natural-born American because at least one of his parents was an American.
President Barack Obama was born to an American mother and a Kenyan father in Hawaii, USA. As such, Barack Obama is unquestionably a natural-born citizen. Yet, Donald Trump made Americans believe that his natural-born citizenship was in question. It was the genesis of the birther movement.
What is most infuriating is that the American mainstream media gave the birther movement traction and plausibility by giving it a platform. They made it seem as if Trump questioning Obama’s birth certificate or country of birth was a genuine issue.
Even if Barack Obama was born in Kenya and his birth certificate was forged, the fact that his mother was an American woman from Kansas, he would be a natural-born citizen. That the mainstream media did not make that point consistently and stop airing any commentary from Trump and birthers on Obama’s citizenship was a dereliction of their duty. Their responsibility was to state that Obama was constitutionally qualified for the presidency.
Fast forward to today, Kamala Harris, the first female, Black, and South Asian vice president, faces her own set of challenges in the media landscape. While not dealing with the same brand of conspiracy as Obama, Harris is similarly being harmed by how the media portrays her—or fails to portray her—in relation to specific voter demographics. In particular, the narrative that she is not reaching young men, especially young white men, is a product of the same negligent media ecosystem that amplified the birther movement.
Last night, there was a segment on the 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle. The narrative promoted by three of the panelists, as well as the host, was that VP Kamala Harris needed to do much more to attract men, specifically white men who feel left out. They tacitly accused Harris of playing it too safe. Maya Wiley could take it no more, as she was the only one on the four-person panel who seemed to get it.
The panelists pointed out that the Democratic Party, and by extension Harris, is struggling to connect with young men. This demographic, they pointed out, feels excluded or even attacked by progressive values that emphasize inclusivity and social justice. They are drawn to figures like Donald Trump, who, despite offering no substantive policies for working-class Americans, successfully speaks to their sense of grievance and alienation.
The media’s handling of this issue mirrors their failure during the Obama birther controversy. Rather than critically interrogating the underlying causes of young men’s and young men’s discontent, the media has often given credence to the idea that Harris and the Democrats are responsible for this perceived alienation. In reality, this narrative is more a reflection of the media’s failure to accurately represent the diverse interests of American voters than it is of Harris’s political shortcomings.
Maya Wiley’s remarks hit on a critical point: These young men are not being reached by Democrats, not because the party lacks policies that would benefit them—quite the contrary—but because the media has not made the case for them. Policies like student loan forgiveness, cannabis decriminalization, and economic reform resonate strongly with younger voters. Yet, these issues are often overshadowed by the sensationalist media portrayal of “cancel culture” or “woke politics,” which some young men perceive as threatening to their identities.
Moreover, the media’s failure to contextualize these issues within the broader scope of systemic inequalities has left many voters susceptible to the dog-whistle politics of figures like Trump. By continuing to frame Harris and the Democratic Party as out of touch with these voters, the media is perpetuating a myth that is not supported by the actual policies being championed. This same kind of negligence was at play when the birther movement was allowed to fester—an irresponsible abrogation of journalistic duty.
Wiley pointed out that a Black/South Asian woman married to a Jewish man can only go so far in the discourse before everything she says is twisted. Later in the discussion, she had the most prescient statement.
“What does it mean to say that Kamala Harris, who has, in my calculation, worked so hard to be a unifying candidate,” Maya Wiley said in disgust with tears in her eyes. “Is still constantly blamed for falling short on something that society itself is not fixing.”
Harris, like Obama before her, is a target not just because of her policies but because of her identity. The media’s failure to consistently challenge this type of identity-based criticism means that harmful narratives about her “failures” to connect with certain groups continue to circulate unchallenged. This is even though many of the issues important to these groups—economic opportunity, justice reform, healthcare—are being actively addressed by the Democratic administration.
Just as the media gave oxygen to the birther movement, it is now giving credence to false narratives that Kamala Harris is somehow failing to connect with key demographics, particularly young men. This is not only damaging to her presidential candidacy but also harmful to the integrity of the public discourse. The media is responsible for reporting on facts and providing context to complex social dynamics. When they fail to do so, they allow dangerous myths to flourish, and the long-term consequences for democracy are severe. As Maya Wiley aptly noted, this is a societal issue that Harris alone cannot solve—it requires a concerted effort from all of us, including the media, to heal the divisions that continue to harm American society.
Ultimately, the mainstream media must be held accountable for shaping these narratives. Their failure to challenge falsehoods and tendency to sensationalize the news for clicks and ratings have real-world consequences. It is up to independent, progressive media to step in where the mainstream media fails, providing the context, clarity, and truth that is desperately needed in these politically polarized times.
If the mainstream media did its job, it would not platform the insecurity Trump is placing in the minds of men. They would do what is expected of the fourth estate: tell the truth. Their journalism is a failure and is used by the Right as a free conduit to pollute the minds of many Americans indirectly.
The idea that the media’s sole responsibility is to report what one says without continuous fact-checking makes them irrelevant. More importantly, it makes them complicit in making America ill-informed. It is dangerous. They are partially responsible for the polarization we have today. They have allowed fallacies to cauterize in the minds of many.
[/ppp_patron_only]
