“Women of America Need Trust, Not Protection”: Kamala Harris Outmaneuvers Trump’s Rhetoric
(MSNBC News)
Vice President Kamala Harris deftly navigated a rhetorical challenge set by former President Donald Trump as he attempted to win over a key voting demographic with his promises of protection, a new analysis suggests. According to journalist Susan Faludi, writing in The New York Times, Trump’s attempt to undermine Harris backfired, providing the Democratic candidate an opportunity to rise above his fear-mongering tactics.
“Harris has demonstrated her ability to stand up to America’s most poisonous huckster without being intimidated by or engaging with his scare campaigns,” Faludi wrote. “Crucial to our nation’s future, she’s proving to be an effective protector against the protection racket itself.”
Faludi’s column highlighted Trump’s strategy of appealing to women with the familiar promise of safety, a tactic she claims was designed to corner Harris into echoing his language and alienating male voters. Trump declared, “[Women] will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will be protected, and I will be your protector.” This statement, Faludi argues, was a calculated move to provoke Harris into engaging on his terms, thus risking the alienation of men who might view a female leader’s protective stance as a threat.
“Many voters, especially men, perceive the prospect of being protected by a woman as a threat,” Faludi noted. “In a society where men judge their worth by their ability to protect, being protected by a woman is seen as a disgrace, a stain on one’s honor.”
However, Harris sidestepped the trap. In her response, she reframed the conversation by challenging the premise of Trump’s protector role. “I don’t think the women of America need him to say he’s going to protect them,” she said. “The women of America need him to trust them.”
Faludi observed that this simple pivot transformed the narrative, moving away from gendered politics and bringing it back to a straightforward political debate where Harris’ strengths, and Trump’s vulnerabilities, were more evident.
“If Mr. Trump embodies the make-believe rescuer, the bombastic redeemer who speaks loudly while carrying a tiny stick, Ms. Harris is his levelheaded, no-nonsense opposite,” Faludi concluded. “Her record of public service and her utilitarian policy plans attest to workable fixes to actual dangers instead of the amplification of invented ones. She offers herself up as the calmly common-sensical civic warden.”
In Faludi’s view, Harris’ ability to shift the focus away from Trump’s scare tactics reveals her growing strength as a leader unafraid to challenge the narrative while maintaining her composure.
