Events in the past week were as paradoxical as the journey of women’s rights movement itself. On the one hand, Democratic Party leader Kamala Harris, who was pitching herself to be the first female POTUS, lost the election, and on the other hand, Susan Wiles was appointed as the first chief of staff for the White House, a position that holds great relevance as she will be wielding unprecedented power over President-elect Donald Trump. We believe she will champion women, peace, and security and pave the way for empathy and inclusion at arguably the world’s highest office.
I was recently invited to participate in the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security held in Manila on 28 October 2024. The conference preluded the 25th anniversary of the iconic UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), which was adopted in 2000. The resolution aimed to contribute to carving pathways and developing collaborative strategies for overcoming barriers to women’s full and meaningful participation in peace-making and the mainstreaming of gender in the promotion of peace and security globally. For the first time, the resolution linked gender equality and maintenance of international peace and security and recognised women’s participation as key to resolving conflict and securing peace.
While this was important, it is also crucial to understand that character defines an individual and has nothing to do with gender. One cannot assume a woman candidate will get elected simply for the sake of gender equality. America did not discriminate on the basis of gender, else Harris wouldn’t have remained the forerunner in the race for nomination among the Democrats. Her loss can be attributed more to the policies that dogged the Democrats and the perceptions of the people. Although the general stereotype is that women are pretty and blonde, I have seen brave, hardworking women and very timid men. The common perception may be that women are more honest, but I have seen very corrupt women and extremely honest men.
Harris didn’t leverage her empathetic instincts to take a bold anti-war stand to end the conflicts that have been raging in various parts of the world. A statement conveying that war must end as it’s harming women and children and causing chaos would have projected her as an international leader wanting to end conflicts. This missed opportunity was, however, seized by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said: “दुनिया को युद्ध में नहीं बुद्ध में ही समाधान मिलेगा (The world will find a solution not in war but in peace)”. Harris could have seized the opportunity, showcased her negotiation skills, and brought an end to the suffering of women and children in conflicted regions of the world.
Let us analyse the possible reasons that kept Harris out of the White House.
Also read: Kamala Harris was neither fit nor prepared. She couldn’t own or disown Biden legacy
Disconnect with voters
Some believe that due to former President Joe Biden’s late withdrawal and the lack of preparation time, Harris was never really able to establish her own rapport with the voters. The counter to this argument could be that she was the vice-president and thus had ample opportunity to build her equation with voters. Issues like unemployment were left unaddressed before she jumped onto the futuristic bandwagon of climate change policies and Artificial Intelligence. Voters who were impacted by job cuts due to automation and climate action in swing states such as Michigan voted against her myopic policies that seemed disconnected from the ground reality. Voters in traditional states were also disenchanted with her confused stance on key issues. Harris was unable to identify with families, as she was perceived as a power-hungry leader who lacked genuine commitment. She was also perceived as confused about her identity as an African-American and overseas South Indian. In the end, she wasn’t seen as someone who stood for all — rather, as a candidate who stood for none.
Woke culture
In a 2017 video, Harris stated: “Everybody needs to be woke.” And a three-day-old New York Post headline said: “Kamala Harris learns the hard way that woke doesn’t work.” Trump gained significant headway in states where the whole woke culture is seen as a threat to traditional American values. Conservative voters in Arizona swung the vote definitively in Trump’s favour. The breakdown of social culture has been a big factor in Trump’s win in all the seven swing states.
What is ‘woke’? Recently, it has been used as slang for ultra-progressive values that have found favour in uber-modern societies. However, ‘wokeness’ is also seen to be breaking down societal norms, which conservatives and centrists believe are eroding traditional and family values in the West.
Economic policies
The Democrats seemed to have ignored the economic crises looming in America. The high cost of housing, groceries, and escalating gasoline prices are predominant concerns among voters in Arizona, whereas voters in Michigan wanted a clear stand on job creation and the unemployment crisis. Adoption of latest technology and AI hasn’t resolved the unemployment crisis, rather, it has added fuel to it across the world, including in the US. Attempting to ride two boats — one that embraced ‘key liberal goals’ to tax the super-rich and corporates and the other, which was pro-business and embraced Wall Street donors — did not augur well for Harris. She has been called a “Rembrandt of vagueness” by The Washington Post, with her lack of a clear-cut policy on any economic decisions that would bring relief to beleaguered American citizens.
Most Democratic states like California and New York are reeling from a social crisis arising from escalating crime rates and homelessness. Democrats have been under fire for their handling of the illegal immigrant situation, which is being blamed for the rising rates of poverty. The Biden administration was perceived as weak, having done little to curb illegal immigration or regulate the border, law, and security situation across the country.
Brink of war
In some ways, the Biden administration’s policies brought the world to the edge of conflict, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Fanning the flames isn’t a strategy that world leaders should use to gain votes in their own countries. Rather than bowing to those clamouring for war, Harris ought to have projected world peace. A smart leader would have seen the machinations of the agenda of warmongers.
Sanctions
On the one hand, the Biden government wanted to promote the US dollar, and on the other, it imposed economic sanctions on several countries. That ended up weakening the dollar itself, according to some experts, as nations were forced to use other methods of business and currency. Oil from Venezuela is a case in point. The US’ move to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela threatened to disrupt India’s import of crude oil from the Latin American country. The Biden administration banned the sale of crude oil by the state-run Venezuelan oil company PDVSA in 2019. The only companies exempt from this ban are Chevron, Repsol and Maurel & Prom, which are American, Spanish and French multinationals respectively. The policy pursued by the US during this period was ambiguous, if not duplicitous, and lacked both legal and moral authority.
India was in a bind—buy Russian oil and face American anger or purchase from its usual sources in the Middle East where the prices of crude had increased due to European imports. India was, therefore, was left with little choice but to purchase Russian oil. It helped stabilise global crude prices.
NATO and the defence alliance
The war in Europe has come at a huge price to trade, aviation, and peace in the region. Harris’ shifty stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership did no service to her chances of success in the election. The American citizen is not inspired by funding a war from taxpayers’ money — they would rather focus on cleaning up their own houses. Americans of Indian origin have traditionally voted for Democrats, but this time, due to Canada and Bangladesh missteps, this vote bank, too, seems to have voted against Harris.
Harris’ loss is definitely not a loss for the women’s movement. Rather, it needs to be seen as a loss of opportunity for women leaders to showcase themselves as peacekeepers. Meanwhile, Wiles’ appointment as the White House chief of staff is a step in the right direction.
Meenakshi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer, and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)