Nikki Haley vs. ‘President Harris’

Your definitive guide to women, politics and power.

Jul 21, 2023 View in browser   By Sophie Gardner POLITICO illustration/Photos by Getty Images Hi Rulers! I have an event to put on your radar (other than the weekend’s Barbenhimer festivities, of course.) Women Rule is hosting an event Thursday, July 27 at 9:00 a.m. at the Conrad Washington D.C.! Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Reshma Saujani and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) will be there to talk about women in the workplace and the U.S. childcare crisis. Rsvp here! Let's get into it: When Nikki Haley first announced she was running for president, the only Republican woman to do so thus far in the 2024 cycle, POLITICO Magazine contributor Lauren Leader thought she would “be subjected to an endless barrage of hideous misogynist attacks” from her opponents and from the media. Leader says she was wrong: “Actually, the opposite has happened. They're just ignoring her.” One way Haley’s trying to get some attention? Zeroing in on her favorite punching bag: Vice President Kamala Harris. “She’s been trying to get headlines by referring to Kamala Harris as President Harris,” says Leader, the co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a nonprofit women’s civic education organization. Harris is also an easy target: an LA Times poll out this week positions her as the least popular VP in recent history. Haley has made the repeated claim that if Biden is reelected, Harris will take over. “A vote for President Biden is actually a vote for President Harris,” she tweeted in June. She’s also repeatedly bashed Harris’ competency (“Kamala Harris is one of the most incompetent elected officials in the country”) and painted her as “unbelievably extremist.” She doubled down last Friday, in an interview with Tucker Carlson at the 2023 Family Leadership Summit: “We can’t afford a President Kamala Harris. I will say that over and over again.” Haley’s attacks are twofold, according to Leader. First, there’s Joe Biden’s age. He’s already the oldest president in history, and there’s an increased chance that, if he wins his reelection bid, Harris will have to step up as President. That argument is not unique to Haley, though she’s pushed it more than her fellow candidates. And secondly, the idea that Harris is secretly pulling the strings for Biden, ultimately aiming to replace him, calls to mind a sexist criticism that’s long plagued women with proximity to power: the Lady MacBeth troupe. “It’s ironic, because here you have the only woman running for president on the Republican side who's reinforcing not only a misogynist [troupe], but also disinformation about the vice president, and also very gendered disinformation,” Leader says. Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, says that no one should be too surprised that Haley is coming for Harris: “We're just not used to seeing women who are very different but share the same demographic identities running against each other,” Dittmar says. “Nikki Haley is just using the same strategy that all the white guys have used.” But she also says it’s a little more complex for Haley, because she and Harris share some parts of their identities. They are both South Asian women in a political landscape that is still mostly dominated by white men. (Harris is half Indian, half Black.) “Certainly saying that this is a Harris administration, and using her race and gender as cues that it's going to be dangerous and overly progressive or socialist, those are the sorts of dog whistles that we know are tied to race and gender and particularly racism and sexism,” Dittimar says. “I really would like to know what her strategists are seeing to motivate this, and the degree to which they are being attentive to the fact that by tapping into these sentiments, they tap into a particular sentiment that can work to her disadvantage.” Johanna Maska, former White House director of press advance for the Obama administration and host of the Press Advance podcast, is skeptical about the viability of Haley’s approach. “Nikki Haley has talked about her experience as a woman and as a woman of color. She’s even talked about being part of a beauty pageant. I think she has a different perspective,” Maska tells Women Rule. “But I don't think that she's willing to share that perspective because she doesn't think that that's going to get her attention in the Republican primary electorate. So instead she's going after some of these like hot button or red meat issues … but it isn’t helping her.” It’s not the only tactic that Haley has tried to gain relevance in the primary, says Jennifer Lim, the founder and director of Republican Women for Progress. “First she was out there talking about abortion. Then she went hard on the culture wars, anti-trans rhetoric talking about letting boys into girls bathrooms. And now she's trying the Kamala Harris bit.” Haley’s not the only one trying different tactics to distinguish herself from a crowded pack. “A lot of candidates in the Republican Party are currently not getting oxygen,” Maska says. One strategy that some of her male counterparts are using? Playing up their Macho-man personas. Chris Christie says he’d beat Donald Trump in a brawl. Ron DeSantis’ campaign shared a video that splices photos of the Florida governor between photos of shirtless male bodybuilders, and Vivek Ramaswamy is bragging about how fast he can run. And if nothing else, it’s certainly getting their names in the news (and in the Twitter discourse.) Lim thinks the masculinity frenzy is a prime opportunity for Haley to paint a (non-Harris-related) contrast. “This would be the perfect time for her to reassert who she actually is and what she stands for: talk about her executive experience, talk about her foreign policy experience,” Lim says. “That could be a really important foil to the eggplant measuring contest that we're seeing right now.” POLITICO Special Report Jens-Ulrich Koch/Getty Images “There’s No Sex in Barbie World. But There’s Still a Gender War” by Joanna Weiss for POLITICO Magazine: “Barbie started as a 1950s concept, at a time when women’s and men’s spheres were mostly separate and well-defined; it made sense that play-acting a woman’s life might involve dressing up and puttering around the Dreamhouse, while Ken, hard at work, would pop in from time to time to change his outfit. But as Barbie expanded her horizons, Ken had to change, too. “And as Barbie gained in competence and confidence, the movie suggests, Ken somehow got less of both — a feared outcome that is shaping politics in the very real, non-Mattel, post-women’s liberation world.” “Trump loses bid for new trial in E. Jean Carroll case,” by Erica Orden for POLITICO: “A federal judge on Wednesday denied Donald Trump’s bid for a new trial two months after a jury found that he sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll.” THE MASCULINITY ISSUE: The magazine is out with a collection of stories that break down everything from how the 2024 race is becoming one big manliness contest to what it’s like to be a man in a women-dominated field. Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS Suzanne Cordeiro/Getty Images “Tearfully testifying against Texas’ abortion ban, three women describe medical care delayed,” by Eleanor Klibanoff and Rebecca Schneid for the Texas Tribune: “Speaking to a packed Travis County courtroom Wednesday, three women detailed devastating pregnancy losses and said medically necessary care was delayed or denied due to their doctors’ confusion over Texas’ abortion laws.” “Domestic violence survivors are supposed to be protected at work. So why aren’t employers complying?” by Chabeli Carrazana for the 19th. “Modi speaks out after video of sexual assault on women in Manipur emerges,” by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan for The Guardian: “Speaking at the opening session of parliament on Thursday morning, Modi made his first comments about the conflict being fought between the Meitei and the Kuki tribes, and stated that ‘the entire country has been shamed’ by the attack on the women.” “Martha Saxton, Historian Who Explored Women’s Lives, Dies at 77,” by Clay Risen for the New York Times.  “Barbie creator Ruth Handler faced sexism that would feel familiar to women business leaders today,” by Jennifer Alsever for Fast Company. Quote of the Week Read more here. Transitions Jen Carnig has been named president of Spitfire Strategies, a communications firm focused on social justice communications. She previously led Spitfire’s New York office. Claire Atkinson has joined The Ankler as a contributing editor. She was most recently Chief Media Correspondent on Insider's business desk. Taylor Childress has joined ClearPath as government affairs manager. She previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.).   JOIN 7/27 FOR A TALK ON WOMEN LEADERS IN THE NEW WORKPLACE: In the wake of the pandemic, U.S. lawmakers saw a unique opportunity to address the current childcare system, which has become increasingly unaffordable for millions of Americans, but the initial proposals went nowhere. With the launch of the Congressional Bipartisan Affordable Childcare Caucus in May, there may be a path to make childcare more affordable. Join Women Rule on July 27 to dive into this timely topic and more with featured speakers Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First and Founder of Girls Who Code. REGISTER HERE.       Follow us on Twitter Sophie Gardner @sophie_gardnerj   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.