By Emil Guillermo
Kamala Harris started the week with a bang.
“I have a Glock, and I’ve had it for some time,” she told Bill Whitaker on the Monday special edition of “60 Minutes.” I mean look at my background in law enforcement.”
“Duh,” right? But it’s a point she needed to address. Kamala is a bad ass with a gun.
Trump? He’s the big ass with a bag of burgers.
Voters need to know the things that separate the two candidates. Kamala is law and order. Trump is the lawbreaking felon with 34 convictions.
And that’s how Harris kicked off her media blitz that included “The View,” “Howard Stern,” “Call Me Daddy,” the Colbert late show, then ending up this week in Vegas for good reason.
She needs the guys.
Not the MAGA-prone White guys, but the men of color apparently blindsided by a woman who is simultaneously African American and Asian American, and who is powerful and savvy enough to make history as the 47th president of the United States.
Some Black men and Latinx men I talk to get overly macho when you ask them about voting. They blurt out the name “Trump” as if in self-defense.
So, again, Harris was happy to wave her gun to attract the guys.
“Have you ever fired it?” asked CBS’ Whittaker.
“Yes,” Harris laughed. “Of course, I have — at a shooting range.”
My Lyft Focus Groups
When I visited Nevada recently, the freedom loving women there will have to carry that battleground state.
I talked to Nevadans during my “Lyft ride focus groups,” (the only times I had a real captive audience). One Black male driver was so anti-Harris when I pointed out a previous passenger left a pro-Harris poster, he reached back, grabbed the sign, and ripped it to shreds.
He explained he wasn’t for anyone. He had no time for politics. He was just happy driving his Lyft and being left alone.
In fact, few really wanted to talk about politics. There was a real disenchantment with government and our leaders. They just didn’t want to engage. Not even for a five-star rating.
Most all the drivers were youngish, under 40, and concerned about the economy.
The Latinx drivers were more willing to talk.
“Voting for Trump?” I asked.
“Look at the price of gas, the price of anything,” they said.
I told them inflation is down to 2.5 percent. And that if Trump got in, he’s going to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, that companies will pass on to consumers. Nobel economists say Trump’s economic plan guarantees greater inflation.
No response. The guys were MAGA stuck.
On my last day, I got a driver, a Mexican immigrant named Enrique. To him there was no question. Who was he backing?
“Anyone but Trump,” he said. “I’m voting for her.”
The race is so close, it’s hard to figure what the national polls reflect. Harris is ahead by 2 percentage points, 49-47%, according to the latest Times/Sienna College poll. But that could reflect an abundance of California voters were Harris leads big. Or it could reflect an abundance of Florida voters, were Trump leads bigly. The Electoral College is what counts, and that’s where attracting men of color in swing states could make a real difference.
About the Author
Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. Listen to his micro-talk show on www.patreon.com/emilamok.
