Joy is not the first word that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump. The idea of joy seems outside his range of emotions. So maybe it’s not surprising that he seized on how Kamala Harris laughs to mock her.
It hasn’t worked.
Harris has responded to Trump’s jabs by embracing her joyful laugh and turning it into another of her most appealing qualities. This was underscored at the Democratic National Convention by a chorus of prominent speakers.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff told the roaring crowd: “You know that laugh. I love that laugh. Kamala is a joyful warrior. She will not be distracted by nonsense.”
Michelle Obama praised “the steel of her spine, the steadiness of her upbringing, the honesty of her example and yes, the joy of her laughter and her light.”
And Hillary Clinton clearly remembered how her own laugh had been called a “cackle” suggesting she was a witch when she campaigned for president. “It is no surprise that he is lying about Kamala’s record, he is mocking her name and her laugh. Sounds familiar?”
Even before she became the presidential nominee, Harris’ laugh at times had attracted attention. On The Drew Barrymore Show last spring, she explained that it comes from her mother: “I grew up around a bunch of women in particular who laughed from the belly. They laughed. They would sit around the kitchen, drinking their coffee, telling big stories with big laughs.”
Trump has tried to portray that laugh as something malign. At a Pennsylvania rally earlier this month he said: “Have you heard her laugh? That is the laugh of a crazy person.” And at a rally in Michigan, he said: “I call her laughing Kamala. Have you seen her laughing? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She is nuts. “
Trump was right about one thing, you can tell a lot by her laugh. You can tell she is a confident woman comfortable in her own skin who knows how to find joy in the world and share that joy.
Trump’s attempts to savage Harris by focusing on something that has nothing to do with her politics and policies is sadly all too familiar to women running for office. No matter that we now have the second woman to be the presidential nominee of a major party, no matter that a woman served as a powerful and effective Speaker of the House, no matter all the gains women have made winning elected office at the local and national levels, they still have to navigate enduring sexism.
For women politicians, their dress, their demeanor, their tone of voice, their hair style and yes, their laugh, are all subject to a kind of microscopic attention not lavished on male candidates.
State Rep. Liz Berry, D-36, knows what that attention feels like. She wasn’t surprised to hear Trump’s attacks on how Harris laughs and wasn’t surprised to see how those attacks are backfiring due to how Harris responds.
“Trump goes back to old hits,” says Berry, “This is just typical fodder for him. I kind of feel Kamala is giving this ‘I don’t care vibe’ and ‘I’m going to be myself’ and it seems like it’s working. Kamala is navigating it in an interesting way, kind of shoving it in their faces. She’s been laughing more, she’s been having more fun. Kamala is sort of a different generation, ‘I wear my Converse and I walk out to cool music’ and she seems more friendly. Young people like it, and she seems to be embracing her memes.”
Maybe the way Harris is handling herself and responding to Trump’s attempts to belittle and bully will help diminish some of that lasting sexism facing women in politics. Maybe more women will embrace how they laugh and speak and not try to deepen their voice to sound more masculine because the public thinks men sound more authoritative. Maybe more women will wear clothes that are professional and comfortable but don’t require Spanx and ankle breaking stilettos (although those are fine of course for women who like them).
As Rep. Berry told me, Kamala Harris dresses in a way that “looks sharp but she doesn’t want you to be thinking about what she’s wearing.” As a candidate for office herself, Berry says she also doesn’t “want to bring attention to myself but I don’t want to look like a slob.”
This focus on what women in politics wear often also has been applied to the wives of politicians. As a journalist based in Washington DC for many years, it was routine when reporting on a First Lady or potential First Lady to discuss what designers she favored, how she styled her hair, her makeup routine. Has anyone asked Doug Emhoff to describe in detail how he shaves and what moisturizers he uses?
Not that there’s anything wrong with a woman candidate who enjoys wearing dresses and heels and loves makeup and getting mani pedis. Each woman, and each man, should be able to dress to be themselves. If Barack Obama liked dad jeans, good for him. If Hillary Clinton preferred pantsuits in a palette of many hues, good for her.
In the sense that those leading our government at all levels should be role models, how they look and talk can be important. They should be expected to talk with decency and not swear in public. They should be expected to dress in a manner that shows respect for their office and themselves and the public they serve.
And they should be able to laugh loudly and often.
Very well said, Linda. Sexist taunts are still aimed at women who dare run for office. A hearty laugh should be a plus for women candidates as well as for male contenders. Alas, we continue to see chauvinist behavior. Guess the only response is to mock the out-of-step misfits.
“Has anyone asked Doug Emhoff to describe in detail how he shaves and what moisturizers he uses?”
I would probably pay money to see this.
Imagine: “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: White House Edition”.
It might be interesting Jean to ask women like you who ran for office a few years ago to compare experiences with those running now. There is still the sexism we both write about but are there ways in which things are better? For example, women candidates and fund raising. Kamala is certainly showing that voters will give money to women candidates but that wasn’t always the case. Hmm, that might be a seed for my next column.
Linda, I do believe that running as a woman is easier than before, particularly when it comes being able to raise money. Some of that was because in the past many women were hesitant about putting themselves forward and making the money ask. I actually didn’t do badly as a fund raiser, but that was because I spent time working with a fundraiser, a real pro.
Also, as you noted, women are now far better at donating to other women than they once were. But running as a woman always has had different rules. We have yet to see the day when the road ahead becomes level.
Thanks Linda. As an old white guy, I’m delighted to hear the laughter and joy from the refreshing campaign of Vice President Harris. Laughter can be healing even in dark times. The Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin: “ Laughter demolishes fear and piety before an object, before a world, making of it an object of familiar contact and thus clearing the ground for an absolutely free investigation of it. Laughter is a vital factor in laying down that prerequisite for fearlessness without which it would be impossible to approach the world realistically.” I think “object” in this case can also refer to a person or movement. Laughter may be a secret weapon in the effort to save our fragile democracy.