Monday, October 07, 2024

SEXUAL POLITICS
Harris says it’s ‘not the 1950s anymore’ in dismissing criticism over not having biological children

Ebony Davis and Jack Forrest
CNN
Sun, October 6, 2024 



Kamala Harris said she feels “sorry” for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who suggested at a town hall with former President Donald Trump last month that the vice president doesn’t have anything to keep her humble because she doesn’t have biological children.

“I feel sorry for her, and I’m going to tell you why,” Harris said on an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast released Sunday. “Because I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here, who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life, and I think it’s very important for women to lift each other up.”

Responding to Republicans who have criticized her for not having biological children, Harris told podcast host Alex Cooper, “I feel very strongly, we each have our family by blood and then we have our family by love. And I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing.”

The Democratic presidential nominee has two stepchildren – Cole and Ella Emhoff – through her 10-year marriage to second gentleman Doug Emhoff. She detailed during the interview, which was taped on Tuesday, her “very modern family” and her relationship with her “two beautiful children,” who she noted refer to her as “Momala.”

“I love those kids to death. Family comes in many forms, and I think that increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950s anymore,” Harris said.

Sanders, the Republican governor of Arkansas, said last month that her three children serve as a “permanent reminder of everything that is at stake in this country” and that “my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”

The former Trump White House press secretary’s argument that children serve as reminders of what matters in an election, which alluded to the vice president’s lack of biological kids, was reminiscent of repeated comments made by Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance. The Ohio Republican has received criticism for his past remarks that the US was being run by “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.”

Harris’ appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, which has a reputation for frank conversations about sex and relationships, comes as her campaign prioritizes booking interviews with local media and more unconventional forums. That strategy has garnered both criticism for dodging challenging interviews and praise as a savvy messaging move.

The interview marked the start of a media spree, as Harris will make appearances this week on “The View,” “The Howard Stern Show,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a Univision town hall and CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Harris talks abortion rights

As Harris’ campaign looks to place reproductive rights at the center of its platform, the vice president used her appearance on “Call Her Daddy” — which Spotify has billed “the most listened-to podcast by women” — to hit her opponent on an issue where she has so far held the upper hand.

During the interview, she criticized Trump for casting himself as a “protector” during a rally last month where he claimed American women won’t be “thinking about abortion” if he’s elected.

“So he, who, when he was president, hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did just as he intended,” Harris told Cooper.

Harris added: “This is the same guy that said women should be punished for having abortions. This is the same guy who uses the same kind of language he does to describe women?”

Cooper was surprised when Harris told her she became the first sitting US president or vice president to visit a reproductive health center when she went to a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic in March.

Harris also debunked false statements from the former president accusing Democrats of wanting to allow the execution of babies after birth, calling the notion a “boldface lie” and “insulting.”

“That is not happening anywhere in the United States,” Harris said, adding, “Can you imagine, he’s suggesting that women in their ninth month of pregnancy are electing to have an abortion?”

While both Trump and Vance have claimed that Democratic states are allowing such abortions, no state has passed or is passing a law that allows the execution of a baby after it is born, and killing a person after birth is illegal in every state.

CNN’s Arit John, Eva McKend, Brian Stelter and Daniel Dale contributed to this report.



Kamala Harris Defends All Forms of Motherhood in Powerful “Call Her Daddy” Interview

Rosa Sanchez
BAZAAR
Mon, October 7, 2024 

Kamala Harris Defends All Forms of Motherhood in Powerful “Call Her Daddy” Interview


Kamala Harris is not holding back.

In what felt like a natural move in a youth-focused campaign, the Democratic nominee for president made a historic appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Sunday—and while there, doubled down on her support for all kinds of families, mothers, and women.

Harris fiercely criticized Republican opponent Donald Trump’s stance and past comments on abortion, but the most powerful part of the interview came when podcast host Alexandra Cooper asked the vice president how she feels about Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s recent remarks about her. For context, Sanders tried to paint Harris in a negative light by saying at a town hall that she (Sanders) stays humble because of her children, but because Harris has no biological children of her own, she “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”


“I feel sorry for her, and I’m going to tell you why,” Harris told Cooper of Sanders. “Because I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here, who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life, and I think it’s very important for women to lift each other up.”

Harris has two beloved stepchildren, Cole and Ella Emhoff, through her 10-year marriage to second gentleman Doug Emhoff. And this is not the first time in her political career that she has been questioned or attacked by Republicans for not having birthed children. Just look at Trump running mate J.D. Vance’s recent comments ridiculing the “childless cat ladies” whom he says are running the country into the ground.

Responding to the ongoing criticism, Harris said in the interview: “I feel very strongly, we each have our family by blood and then we have our family by love. And I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing.” She added that she and Emhoff have a “very modern family” and her relationship with her “two beautiful children,” who refer to her as “Momala,” is sacred.

“I love those kids to death. Family comes in many forms, and I think that increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950s anymore,” Harris said.

Kamala Harris Slams Criticism About Being Childless

Hayley Santaflorentina
Mon, October 7, 2024 

Originally appeared on E! Online

Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t leaving her family up for debate.

After Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Governer of Arkansas, made comments implying the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee doesn’t have kids of her own—despite her blended family with husband Doug Emhoff including his children, Cole, 30, and Emma, 25—Harris slammed what she felt to be an outdated point of view.

“I feel very strongly, we each have our family by blood and then we have our family by love,” Harris told Alex Cooper during Call Her Daddy’s Oct. 6 episode. “I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing. I have two beautiful children who call me ‘Mamala.’”

“We have a very modern family,” she noted, before quipping, “My husband’s ex-wife is a friend of mine.”

The 59-year-old also reflected on how her own childhood changed her approach to step parenting.

“I’m a child of divorced parents,” Harris explained. “When I started dating Doug, I was very thoughtful and sensitive to making sure that until I knew that our relationship was something that was going to be real, I didn’t want to form a relationship with the kids and then walk away from that relationship.”

She continued, “My own experience tells me that children form attachments and I wanted to be thoughtful about it. So I waited to meet the kids. And they are my children and I love those kids to death.”

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Because, as she noted, there is no one way to define family.

“Family comes in many forms and I think that increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950s anymore,” Harris added. “Families come in all shapes or forms and they are family nonetheless.”

And the Vice President also had a response for comments made by President Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance, in which the Republican nominee for vice president referred to Harris as a “childless cat lady” for not having biological children.

“I just think it’s mean and mean spirited,” she told Cooper. “And I think that most Americans want leaders who understand that the measure of their strength is not based on who you beat down, the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”


Kamala Harris Says Donald Trump Is ‘Full of Lies’ on ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcast: ‘I Just Have to Be Very Candid With You’

Michaela Zee
VARIETY
Sun, October 6, 2024 


Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris appeared in a new episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, where she spoke about abortion rights, student loan forgiveness and remarks made by Donald Trump and JD Vance.

In the episode, released Sunday, Harris criticized former President Trump’s stance on women’s rights and reproductive freedom, particularly following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

At one point, Harris commented on Trump repeating the false claim during September’s presidential debate that Democrats support states “executing” babies after they are born.

“That is not happening anywhere in the United States. It’s a bold face lie. Just a boldfaced lie that he is suggesting,” Kamala said. “Can you imagine he’s suggesting that women in their ninth month of pregnancy are electing to have an abortion? Are you kidding? That is so outrageously inaccurate and it’s so insulting to suggest that that would be happening and that women would be doing that. It’s not happening anywhere.”

“This guy is full of lies,” Harris continued, referring to Trump. “I mean, I just have to be very candid with you.”

Harris also responded to Trump telling women, “You will be protected, and I will be your protector,” at a rally on Sept. 23.

“So he, who, when he was president, hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe V. Wade and they did just as he intended and there are now 20 states with Trump abortion bans, including bans that make no exceptions for rape or incest, which we just discussed, which means that you’re telling a survivor of a crime with a violation of their body, they don’t have a right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, which is immoral,” Harris said on the podcast. “So, this is the same guy that is now saying that, this is the same guy that said women should be punished for having abortions. This is the same guy who uses the same kind of language he does to describe women? So yeah, there you go.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Harris reacted to Republican vice presidential candidate Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comment he made in a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson. “I just think it’s mean and mean spirited,” she said. “And I think that most Americans want leaders who understand that the measure of their strength is not based on who you beat down, the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”

Listen to the full “Call Her Daddy” podcast with Vice President Harris below:


Kamala Harris Reacts to J.D. Vance’s ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Viral Remark In 'Call Her Daddy' Episode

NBC
Updated Sun, October 6, 2024 

Kamala Harris is the latest guest for “Call Her Daddy.” Ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election, which is less than a month away, the Vice-President sat down with Alex Cooper for the Oct. 6 episode of her popular podcast, “Call Her Daddy.” The two women discussed a variety of topics, from reproductive rights in the United States to the Democratic presidential nominee’s late mother’s influence to her former career as a prosecutor. The Vice President also reacted to personal attacks by her opponent, former President Donald Trump, who criticized her identity and character. “I think it’s really important not to let other people define you. And usually those people who will attempt to do it don’t know you,” Harris said. Before the interview began, Alex addressed her listeners acknowledging that she knows their political views are mixed, but said she felt that she had to engage in the important dialogue. “I will be honest; I had been going back and forth with this decision for a while to get involved or to not get involved. But at the end of the day, I couldn't see a world in which one of the main conversations in this election is women and I'm not a part of it.” She added that her goal was not to change her audience’s political affiliations, but hopes they can listen to the conversation, which she notes isn’t too different than the ones they have every week. The podcast host also said she reached out to Trump to come on the show and have a meaningful, in-depth discussion surrounding women’s rights.


Harris Slams Trump’s Claim That He’s a ‘Protector’ of Women on ‘Call Her Daddy’ Pod Cast

Althea Legaspi
ROLLING STONE
Sun, October 6, 2024


Kamala Harris rejected Donald Trump’s recent claims where he told women, “You will be protected, and I will be your protector,” which he said while campaigning in Pennsylvania last month. “This is the same guy who said that women should be punished for having abortions,” Harris said as a guest on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast hosted by Alex Cooper, which was released on Sunday.

Cooper quoted the former president’s remarks and asked Harris, who is running neck-and-neck against Trump in the presidential race, “What do you make of that?”

Harris didn’t hesitate to quickly and succinctly break it all down. “So, he who when he was president, hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade, and they did just as he intended,” she began, addressing the question.


“And there are now 20 states with Trump abortion bans, including bans that make no exception for rape or incest, which we just discussed, which means that you’re telling a survivor of a crime, of a violation to their body, they don’t have a right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, which is immoral,” she added.

“So, this is the same guy that is now saying that. This is the same guy who said that women should be punished for having abortions. This is the same guy who uses the kind of language he does to describe women. So yeah, there you go,” she concluded.

Cooper said during her intro before her 40-minute conversation with Harris that she “went back and forth” on whether or not to address politics or interview politicians at all for her podcast, but she said she felt “the conversation I know I’m qualified to have is the one surrounding women’s bodies and how we are treated and valued in this country.”

Cooper also said that her team reached out to Trump to be interviewed on her show. “If he also wants to have a meaningful, in-depth conversation of women’s rights in this country, then he is welcome on Call Her Daddy anytime,” she said.

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