Kamala Harris is all but confirmed as the Democratic nominee. And despite never casting a primary vote for her, the vice president’s core constituents are wasting no time lining up in support. Among those leading the charge? “White Women for Kamala.”
The group had a Zoom call late last week that reportedly brought in some $8.5 million and overwhelmed the virtual meeting platform. But does it represent a long-term strategy for Harris? On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Ben Shapiro, host of The Ben Shapiro Show, to react to the call and where Harris’ fledgling campaign stands.
‘White Women for Kamala’
In the wake of Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 race and endorsing Harris, a group of black women organized a Zoom call last week that reportedly had 44,000 attendees and raised over one million dollars. Black men gathered for a similar event, and white people apparently decided they needed to get in the mix.
The Cut reported that Shannon Watts, founder of the progressive Moms Demand Action, “watched in amazement” at the events and decided to put out a call to white women. She posted her idea on X last Tuesday and, by Thursday, had organized a meeting called “White Women: Answer the Call.”
Some 200,000 people joined the virtual meetup, which apparently made it the largest Zoom call in history. The goal was to ensure white women do not fall prey to their “privilege” and support “the patriarchy” and “white supremacy” by voting Republican. Speakers included Watts, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Glennon Doyle, Connie Britton, P!nk, and more.
Here’s a flavor of what went down on the call:
TikTok influencer Arielle Fodor declared “BIPOC women” have “tapped” white women into the 2024 election to “step up, listen, and get involved.” But she had a word of warning: “Don’t make it about yourself,” Fodor said. “As white women, we need to use our privilege to make positive changes. If you find yourself talking over or speaking for BIPOC individuals or, God forbid, correcting them, just take a beat and instead we can put our listening ears on.”
Britton, meanwhile, joked that the meeting could be called “Karens for Kamala” and was taken with the way Harris “glisten[s]” in the “brilliance and shine of her true power and leadership.” She also believes the vice president has a special gift. “Because she is a woman, she will listen and lead with empathy, integrity, and the power of the truth,” Britton said. Her parting wisdom: “Trust this moment, my fellow white women.”
Where Harris Stands
Megyn said there was so much to take away from the gathering. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but when we got our vaginas, we got a truth telling vibe that men just don’t have,” she quipped. “It’s a little known secret of women. I really appreciate Connie Britton underscoring that for everybody.”
In Shapiro’s view, such fundraisers are indicative of just how strange this election season is. “I’m sorry, Kamala Harris is the crazy laugh lady. She is the smug, smiling lady. She is the queen of smarm,” he said. “The attempt is to turn her into Barack Obama circa 2008, but the truth is her campaign is a lot more like Barack Obama circa 2012.”
As he explained, that means she is campaigning with a “very unpopular set of policies behind her” while running “an incredibly intersectional campaign.” Case in point: “White Women for Kamala” and the brother group “White Dudes for Kamala.” All the while, Harris has managed to not “face a single difficult question” since “she ascended to the throne here in a non-democratic coup by the Democrat Party,” Shapiro added.
This makes for, in Shapiro’s opinion, a “very weird” campaign, which is why Harris is likely facing the “high point” of her support. “I’m having a hard time really telling whether this enthusiasm for Kamala or this is just, ‘Thank God we got rid of the old man,'” he noted. “They did get rid of the old man, they got rid of the corpse, and now they have a lukewarm body in there.”
How she fares long term, however, remains to be seen. “So far, she has basically given some campaign speeches in friendly scenarios,” Shapiro concluded. “I just think that the varnish can’t continue this way… and so we’ll have to see whether she actually has better chops than she presented in 2020 when she ran the single worst presidential campaign.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Shapiro by tuning in to episode 850 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.