New York: Peak mudslinging season is here. With exactly 15 days to go before US elections 2020, the many interpretations of Democratic VP candidate Kamala Harris' political performance continue to roil the idea of racial politics in the US even as the Trump-Biden head to head race is tightening.
If Joe Biden wins, what kind of Veep will America get is a question that is being interpreted in popular culture with GIFs, outright racism and overt references to how men ran away from the Hillary Clinton vote in 2016, because the former US Secretary of State reminded them of a certain kind of female persona that made them gag.
"Kamala (Harris) is not half as bad as Clinton, but she can be, when her jaw is set. I voted Trump in 2016 just because I didn't like Clinton. She reminded me of my too-strict aunt lecturing me," a voter in Union County, New Jersey, told IANS.
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Hillary Clinton memories do stick to Harris but it's also moved on from there. Multiple Kamala avatars have entered the public imagination, some inserted by Trump and some by Harris' recent big-ticket political performances, notably the VP debate.
The US President has insisted that within a month of a "Sleepy Joe" (Biden) presidency, Harris will be running the US. A Trumpian senator mispronounced Kamala Harris' name repeatedly at Trump rally on October 16 when he referred to Harris as "KAH'-mah-lah? Kah-MAH'-lah? Kamala-mala-mala? I don't know. Whatever", sparking the "MyNameIs" counterpunch on social platforms.
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Harris' "Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking" during the long Vice Presidential debate is the latest entry into the annals of anti-mansplaining.