Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential nominee, is no stranger to questionable media coverage. As a woman, as a Black woman, and as an Asian American woman, she has been subjected to countless stories based entirely on her gender, her race, or both. Her name is often mispronounced and her attire questioned. Did election night continue this trend? Or did media outlets find other things to focus on when it comes to Kamala Harris?
Daytime Coverage
There was very little talk of Harris at all during daytime coverage of the election. Although, there was some brief footage of her hugging her nieces for the first time in months. There was also very little coverage of current Vice President Mike Pence.
Early coverage focused largely on the possibility of civil unrest, as well as final campaigns and statements from voters at the polls.
As election night progressed, coverage stayed focused on the two main candidates and voting patterns. However, it’s interesting that for two septuagenarian candidates, their second in commands were the subject of such little focus on election night. There is more than a chance that the Vice President could be absolutely essential, if not made President through the succession laws, in the four years to come. And yet we heard next to nothing about them.
Kamala Harris Stories
A lot of the talk that did feature Kamala Harris on election night surrounded whether voters wore pearls to the polls in order to honor Harris. According to Snopes, while the trend of wearing pearls did in fact take hold on social media, the reasons were varied. Women wore pearls to support women’s suffrage, as well as to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Kamala Harris. This is a nice story, but it does not put Kamala Harris in the same category as her male counterparts. Can we even imagine talking this much about Mike Pence’s ties? While it’s lovely that women are doing this to stand in solidarity with one another, is it really news?
Another story that got significant coverage in regards to Kamala Harris was her ancestral village in India holding prayers for her victory. This story serves entirely to center her otherness. It’s something that happened similarly with President Obama with Kenyans rooting for him. Do we ever hear about a candidate’s ancestral homeland in Ireland rooting for them? Or Germany? No. This is something the media only does with candidates of color. There were numerous articles throughout the day from several outlets. All of them placed Harris’ race over policy or any other relevant details to the election.
The coverage of Kamala Harris is not surprising. Like many other Black women in the public eye, she has often faced criticism outside of her official capacity as a U.S. Senator or Vice Presidential candidate. If Biden and Harris win this election, it is more than likely that this kind of coverage will continue.
