A CNN panel intervened when a conservative pundit claimed that Kamala Harris is losing support because Democrats are targeting “guys who want to be women.”
GOP strategist Scott Jennings made the comments Sunday on State of the Union during a discussion about the Democratic Party’s struggles with male voters ahead of November’s presidential election.
“I think now in October they’re finally starting to realize that a lot of men think Democrats care more about guys who want to be women than about guys who just want to be guys,” Jennings said of Harris’ polls, which show that her struggles with black male voters.
“And no amount of hunting cosplay or cringey videos are going to change that. The bed is made.’
Jennings’ fellow panelists, including Democratic strategist Doug Thornell, interrupted him and said “no, no,” as he claimed voters think Democrats are too focused on transgender issues.
GOP strategist Scott Jennings claimed Kamala Harris is losing support because Democrats are targeting ‘guys who want to be women’
The panel had discussed a New York Times/Siena College survey showing that 51 percent of registered male voters support Trump, compared to 40 percent who support Harris.
Harris’ presidential campaign is under pressure to win more votes, especially from black men, with polls showing her lower status in the voting bloc than Joe Biden when he ran in 2020.
While 85 percent of Black men said they would vote for Biden in 2020, 75 percent said they would vote for the current vice president.
The vice president’s so-called “black male opportunity agenda” is aimed at boosting African American men at a time when there are fears some will sit out the election instead of Harris or her opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump to vote.
Harris has unveiled plans to legalize recreational marijuana and create “forgivable” business loans for Black entrepreneurs in an effort to win the Black vote.
Her new plans include providing forgivable business loans to Black entrepreneurs, creating more apprenticeships and studying sickle cell disease and other diseases that disproportionately affect African-American men.
Harris’ effort comes after former President Barack Obama suggested last week that some black men “don’t like the idea of having a woman as president.”
Harris’ presidential campaign is under pressure to win more votes, especially from black men, with polls showing her lower status in the voting bloc than Joe Biden when he ran in 2020.
The Harris campaign has also worked to increase support among other male voting blocs, including Hispanics, by creating the group “Hombres con Harris,” Spanish for “Men with Harris.” The latest policy rollout is notable because it has the stated goal of motivating Black men to vote just weeks before Election Day.
Similar to her campaign with the ‘Hombres’ group, Harris’ team plans to organize gender-specific rallies.
These include “Black Men Huddle Up” events in battleground states featuring African-American male celebrities for things like watching parties for NFL and NCAA football games.
The campaign says it is also planning new testimonial ads in battleground states with local black male voices.
Black Americans strongly supported Joe Biden when he defeated Trump in 2020. Harris advisers say they are less concerned about the former president losing large percentages of black male support than they are about some choosing not to show up at all.
Trump has also stepped up efforts to win over black and Hispanic voters of both genders. He has held roundtable discussions with Black entrepreneurs in swing states and will sit this week at a town hall sponsored by Spanish-language Univision.
He has also tried to openly stoke racial divisions, repeatedly suggesting that immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are taking jobs away from Black and Hispanic Americans.