Kamala Harris Tries to Hit a Personal Note With the Young and Minority Voters
On the campus of a university in Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris was met by a group of cheerleaders and successfully stoked enthusiasm among younger voters, a demographic that President Joe Biden, who is 80 years old, has difficulty connecting with. Harris was greeted by the kids with enthusiastic chants, "She's got that fever. She's got that heat. She's our VP. You can't compete."
As per the Washington Post, the former political attorney is currently traveling around the nation's schools as part of a month-long "Fight for Our Freedoms" tour. The tour, which started last week with stops at two historically Black colleges, gives Harris the chance to discuss the topics that the Biden administration believes young people are most concerned about as an election year approaches.
“Here’s the thing: I think older adults don’t understand what you have been through and what that means in terms of the fear that you have to live with,” Harris said while addressing the students during the event. “So when I think about our young leaders, they have been through a lot. But … what I love about you is that you’re not waiting for other people to figure it out.” “You are leading on these issues,” as the vice president continued, the students roared in approval. “I’m here to say thank you and to encourage you to keep doing it.”
Harris has received a new position that involves fighting the plague of gun violence that has terrorized schools around the nation. At the White House press conference announcing her new position, Maxwell Frost, a 26-year-old Democrat, stood next to Harris and Biden. Harris, a former California attorney general who has occasionally had trouble engaging audiences, tried to strike an empathetic note while discussing the massacres that have tragically become a part of American life.
"In today's world, on the first day of school, students, yes, learn the name of their teacher. Yes, they learn the location of their cubby and they learn how to quietly hide from an active shooter," Harris cited the customary practice in US schools of instructing children on how to survive a gunman's onslaught. According to a recent CNN poll, Harris has 42 percent of young adults' support and 57 percent of their disdain. A new survey indicates, that among Hispanics, 43% approved and 57% disagreed. Black voters gave Harris a 72 percent approval rating and a 28 percent negative rating for how she handled the vice presidency.
Alexander Hitchens, 19, showed up to Harris' event uncertain of his preferences for and intentions to vote for the president. He admitted that, before the event, he had misgivings about politicians and didn't feel well-informed about the subjects. “I’m not on anybody’s side,” said Hitchens, who describes himself as independent and is pursuing a degree in criminal justice. But he remarked as he exited the gathering: “I think I’m going to vote.” Harris, in his opinion, "very to the people, just gets straight to the point."
He particularly related to her messages about the necessity of addressing gun violence and combating climate change while preserving the freedom of individuals to keep and carry arms. “I probably would vote for Biden and Harris. My family probably won’t like it,” Hitchens added while also revealing that his family backs former president Donald Trump.
