The double standards Kamala Harris may face at the debate, briefly explained

Many reflect the sexism and racism she’s had to deal with her entire career.

Sen. Kamala Harris probably won’t be using the same kinds of insults we heard at last week’s presidential debate.

As part of Harris’s prep for tonight’s highly anticipated face-off with Vice President Mike Pence, her team has examined how women — particularly Black women — are perceived differently by viewers when they go negative, BuzzFeed News’s Molly Hensley-Clancy and Ruby Cramer reported Tuesday. One of the tropes it has studied is that of the ”angry Black woman,” something media outlets and President Donald Trump may attempt to project onto the vice presidential candidate (Trump has already called Harris “nasty” when referencing her questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings).

These are some of the double standards Harris has had to deal with throughout her political career, including since she was named Joe Biden’s running mate. As Vox’s Fabiola Cineas has written, Harris has battled outright racism and sexism, both in media coverage and even in how she’s described by operatives in her own party: Prior to getting the VP nod, she was deemed too ambitious by some Democrats, a trait that’s often framed negatively, especially when it comes to Black women.

Harris’s ability to navigate some of these dynamics will, unfortunately, be a factor on Wednesday, though experts have noted they expect her to maintain a pointed and strong approach in pressing Pence. Given her experience as a prosecutor and her well-established record questioning Trump appointees in Senate hearings, deploying those skills strategically should play in her favor.

“She’ll literally be bringing her skill set as a prosecutor to the debate stage,” Purdue University political science professor Nadia Brown told Vox.

Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Wednesday’s match-up will be the only time that Harris and Pence debate ahead of the election, and it comes shortly after Trump was hospitalized and released from Walter Reed Medical Center following his coronavirus diagnosis. Pence is expected to get significant scrutiny for his role as the head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, and the deaths of more than 200,000 Americans under his leadership. He’s also taken a more singular approach to interpersonal norms in the past, refusing to dine alone with a woman who’s not his wife, according to a Washington Post report.

While vice presidential nominees haven’t historically had a major effect on the electoral outcome of the general election, the unique circumstances around both presidential candidates’ ages and Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis have renewed the spotlight on both Pence and Harris. Due to biases related to both gender and race, their performances could well be treated very differently.

“Women must show they are strong enough, yet not appear to be too tough in order to maintain likeability, a non-negotiable for women candidates,” Amanda Hunter, the research and communications director at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, told Vox. For Black women, in particular, that pressure is even more pronounced.

Harris is the first woman of color to take the general presidential election debate stage

Harris will be the first Black woman and first South Asian American woman to take the presidential or vice presidential debate stage in a general election and as a result, she’ll likely face misogynoir. It’s “the unique brand of misogyny that Black women face because of the combination of their gender and race,” Cineas writes.

Past debates have highlighted how dynamics of both gender and race can play a role. In 2016, Trump handled himself against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton much like how he conducted himself against Biden this year: he interrupted her frequently — and even stalked her across the debate stage at one point. “I generally think of these debates as performances of masculinity,” Santa Clara University political science professor Anna Sampaio told Vox.

Clinton’s response in those instances was quite measured and calm, a striking contrast with how Biden was able to react, prompting writer Jill Filipovic to wonder whether the former Secretary of State was also itching to tell Trump to “shut up, man.” Clinton responded pointedly: “You have no idea.”

Sampaio notes that Clinton’s more understated reaction was likely due to the pressures women still face to reflect dated norms about femininity, which they could get penalized for ignoring. “Women can’t lose their cool because it’s evidence that undercuts their electability, whereas men losing their cool makes them look strong,” she said.

In the case of the vice presidential debates between former Rep. Geraldine Ferraro and former President George H.W. Bush in 1984, the sexism was even more evident. “Let me help you with the difference, Mrs. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon,” he said at one point — a statement that was widely viewed as patronizing, says Hunter. The moderator, Knight Ridder’s Robert Boyd, also highlighted gender specifically to question Ferraro’s qualifications. “Do you think in any way that the Soviets might be tempted to try to take advantage of you simply because you are a woman?” he said.

Meanwhile, University of Virginia political science professor Jennifer Lawless pointed to the vice presidential debate between Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as one where both candidates struck an effective tone. “Substance aside, she was quite likable in the debate, and he didn’t belittle her and demean her,” she said. Biden’s debate prep at the time focused heavily on “not coming across as sexist or a bully,” according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Harris has also had to deal with racist tropes, as well as sexist ones. During President Barack Obama’s campaigns, racist statements were used to undercut his candidacy, including Palin’s 2008 comments, when she accused him of “palling around with terrorists,” and said, “This is not a man who sees America as you and I see America.” In an odd moment during a debate with the late Sen. John McCain, he also referred to Obama as “that one,” instead of by name — a move that many weren’t sure how to interpret, and one which the Center for Social Inclusion viewed as an attempt to “otherize Obama,” while other political operatives felt it was just awkward delivery.

Harris is known for confronting Trump appointees in Congress — and she could do the same with Pence

Harris has made a name for herself in the Senate, in part, because of how effectively she’s confronted Trump appointees including former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Attorney General Bill Barr and Kavanaugh. Wednesday’s debate is yet another chance for her to do the same with Pence.

Experts told Vox that while Harris may have to contend with stereotypes her opponents would like to levy, her expertise as a prosecutor — and performance in both past hearings and debates mean that people expect, and often celebrate, the direct and effective questioning she does.

“She has pointed out discrepancies between the administration’s stated policies and expressed values. I don’t expect to see anything different,” said Brown.

Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis also isn’t something that experts see limiting Harris’s ability to directly confront Pence about the administration’s handling of the pandemic, given his recent decision to return to the White House and refusal to take accountability for his failure to combat the coronavirus. It’s also an opportunity for Harris to highlight racial and economic disparities that have been exacerbated by the White House response, something she hasn’t shied away from confronting.

She’ll have to pick her moments carefully, however, since Pence is known for how placid he was during the 2016 debates, when he drew a sharp contrast with the more aggressive approach of Sen. Tim Kaine. But she nevertheless has a rich target in the vice president.

“The fact that the president has checked himself out of Walter Reed, taken off his mask, and endangered thousands of people’s lives — I feel she should be free to do whatever she wants,” said Lawless.

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