With less than two weeks to go to November 5, Election Day in the U.S.,gender has increasingly emerged as factor in support for the candidates. Republican Candidate Donald Trump has been trying to capitalise on the support he has among men, focusing especially on bolstering his numbers among younger Black and Hispanic men.
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Mr. Trump has had a 21 point lead over Vice President and Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris among young men (58% v 37%), while Ms. Harris has had a 39 point lead over Trump among women (67% v 28%), over three New York Times/ Siena College polls, the New York Times reported.
The leads are in a similar direction, albeit of a smaller magnitude, for all men and all women (irrespective of age). This pattern is consistent with 2016’s outcomes. Democratic Candidate Hilary Clinton won the female vote by 15 points, while Mr. Trump won the male vote by 11 points, the non-partisan Cook Political Report’s Amy Walters says, noting that the variation is in the percentage of men supporting the Democratic ticket (41% in 2016, 48% in 2020 and 43% this year).
The candidates are therefore squeezing out what support they can from segments that could get them over the finish line: Mr. Trump with men, Ms. Harris with women, independents and undecided voters.
To this end, Mr. Trump and Fox News host Lawrence Jones visited a Barber shop in the Bronx last week, where the former president interacted with Black and Hispanic barbers and their clients, some getting their hair cut during the broadcast.
The entire event had an undertone of ‘shooting the breeze with the boys’. The questions played to Mr. Trump’s strengths (as has been the case for Ms Harris in several of her events). Over the course of his campaign, Mr. Trump has engaged with notions of masculinity, including of the toxic kind.
Conversations topics at the Bronx barber shop included inflation, energy costs, the economy and border security. Mr. Trump related policy issues to the shop’s accounts.
One client said that during Mr. Trump’s administration he was able to “see money, save money, spend money” but faced financial challenges now. A former New York police officer asked a question about the border and illegal migration; Mr. Trump linked his answer to the police being over regulated in recent years.
There was a discussion about the barber shop passing down from father to son, both of whom were in the store. The former President attempted to connect with his newer constituents, concluding the session by saying, “You guys are the same as me …we were born the same way. I grew up in Queens.” (Mr. Trump was born into a wealthy family and his father was a real estate magnate).
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, has been spending the final stretch reaching out to women, Republicans and undecided voters.
Women of all political persuasions are concerned about reproductive rights in a hypothetical Donald Trump presidency and how the reversal of Roe v Wade had left a spate of unintended consequences: including, in some States, no exceptions for rape and incest, curbs on fertility treatments and access to contraceptives.
In Wisconsin’s Waukesha County, Ms. Harris campaigned with former GOP Congresswoman, Liz Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The county is home to many non-Trump, old-school Republicans.
Ms. Cheney is also campaigning with Ms. Harris in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In an appeal to Arab American voters, Mr. Trump had criticized Ms. Harris for campaigning with the daughter of one of those principally responsible for the Iraq War.
The term ‘permission structure’ has been widely used in the last few days, to describe what Ms Cheney was attempting to provide for Republican voters who were thinking about voting for Ms Harris. The phrase, used previously by the Harris campaign, was also used in 2013 by then President Obama, who had used it to prod Republicans in Congress needed to join forces with Democrats to vote on legislation.
“You know how hard it is to break away from tribal loyalty to do something you haven’t done before,” said Conservative commentator, Charlie Skyes, who moderated the Waukesha County discussion, before asking Ms. Cheney to address the issue.
The event included questions from Republicans concerned about the erosion of reproductive rights for women and Mr Trump being unfit for the presidency – another theme of the Harris campaign. There were references to former Trump and Biden administration Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley saying Mr Trump was “the most dangerous person to this country” and a “fascist to the core”.
There were also discussions about America’s relationship with its allies suffering under Mr. Trump. By focusing on a national security theme, the Harris campaign is hoping to appeal to Republicans and undecided voters who may be more hawkish on the subject.
In their messaging, Ms. Harris’s supporters, including the group ‘Republicans Against Trump’, have pointed to the fact that she has had the declared support of close to 750 national security officials (including from the Trump administration).
On Wednesday, Ms. Harris suggesting, again, that Mr. Trump was a “fascist”, following his former Chief of Staff John Kelly’s recent assertion that Mr. Trump wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had.
Her changing positions over the last few years, as she balances the needs of her progressive and centrist constituents, means Ms. Harris appears to be reluctant to fully own the fact that her positions have changed significantly. In a televised ‘townhall’ hosted by CNN on Wednesday night in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Ms. Harris faced questions from undecided voters, unsure about her commitment to her positions on issues such as the illegal migration and fracking.
Over the coming days, both candidates are making repeat visits across battleground states, where a handful of voters could make all the difference.
Published – October 24, 2024 09:54 am IST
