Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California visited Iowa for a live CNN-hosted town hall, just one day after 20,000 people gathered in her home city of Oakland, California, to watch her formally launch her presidential campaign. Her energy and momentum are contagious, but people still have some interesting questions for her.
At the town hall in Des Moines, among other things, she was (basically) asked if she thinks it’s possible for a woman to beat Donald Trump in 2020.
Here’s the question, asked by playwright and composer Robert John Ford:
"Some have also said that, given what occurred in 2016 and the current political climate, that a male nominee will have a better chance this time around than a female nominee. Would you please respond to this so that this man has a response ready the next time a man tries to mansplain why a man would make a better nominee?"
Her answer covered some solid ground, first looping back to when she ran for district attorney in San Fransisco (and later attorney general of California), and how she responded to doubters then:
“I’ve heard people say when I ran, and ran as the first woman who would win, ‘People aren’t ready. It’s not your time. Nobody like you has done that before,’. I haven’t listened and I would suggest that nobody should listen to that kind of conversation.”
She also said she thinks American voters deserve “enough credit” and that they’ll “make decisions based on who they believe is the best leader.”
While she doesn’t explicitly slam Trump, her message is clear (and hopeful) when she says voters are "going to make decisions based on who they believe is speaking truth, who is doing it in a way that gives people dignity—doing it in a way that elevates public discourse, as opposed to bringing us to the lowest common denominator.”
When asked how she would potentially approach a debate with Trump, Harris promised she would “speak like a leader” instead of following Trump’s approach which is, as she very accurately put it, is all about “inciting fear.”
Harris also spoke seriously about her policy ideas, including a ban on automatic assault weapons, Medicare for all, and a “Green New Deal.”
If you missed the town hall, you can stream it here:
How do you feel about the presidential hopeful’s message?