Trump vs Harris: American misogyny on the ballot

Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” movement is a macho cult. It suggests the US can be “great again” only if modern American men learn to be strong “manly men” like their fathers and grandfathers, assert dominance over “their” women, and “take back control” – whatever that means. It encourages men to hide their feelings, adhere to archaic sex stereotypes, use violence to get ahead in life, and take advice not from experts and loved ones, but so so-called famous “alpha males”, like podcaster Joe Rogan or billionaire X owner (and now leading Trump backer) Elon Musk.

This toxic movement, built on a promise to return America to an imagined golden era when women knew their place and thus life was jolly for everyone, has unfortunately set the tone for the upcoming presidential elections in the world’s strongest nation. We are now living in a reality where millions and millions of American men (and a not-at-all-small number of women) appear to see Donald Trump as the epitome of male strength, and him being elected president for a second time as the only answer to the country’s many problems.

The former president and reality TV star has a history of insulting and belittling women on social media and on television. He routinely makes crude and offensive comments about prominent women, and especially women who publicly talk against him at his televised rallies attended by thousands. He criticises their physical appearance, insults their families, and even their reproductive choices. At least 26 women have accused him of sexual misconduct and assault. These allegations go all the way back to the 1970s and include rape, unwanted kissing, groping, and voyeurism.  Last year, a jury in a civil trial found him liable for sexual assault and rewarded his accuser $5m. Trump denies all accusations, but nevertheless, his disdain for women is obvious to anyone paying an iota of attention to his words and conduct. Even his VP pick, JD Vance, is an open misogynist, who insults their Democratic rivals by calling them “childless cat ladies”. As president, Trump appointed the judges who eventually overturned Roe v Wade and left American women in many states without meaningful control over their bodies and lives.

In a sane world, this track record of misogyny and violent machismo would be enough to ensure Trump has no chance of coming anywhere near the White House ever again. But we are not living in a sane world.

The MAGA movement has framed the entire election around stereotypes about masculinity. They claimed everything is down to physical endurance, willingness to inflict violence on enemies, and being an overall “macho man”, and seemingly managed to convince enough people to have a good chance at winning this election.

What does this tell us about American society?

In the past few months, we have repeatedly seen Trump’s leading rival, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, being attacked not over her policy positions and conduct in office, but her “sexual history”. She has been accused of being “promiscuous” in her youth and having had “slept her way to the top”. Conservative commentator and filmmaker Matt Walsh posted on X that Harris had “made a career out of begging for handouts from powerful men”, and Fox News host Megyn Kelly described these comments as being helpful to voters, and perfectly “fair game”. Of course, these are nothing but unsubstantiated rumours – the time-old story of baseless gossip being weaponised against a successful woman. And even if they were true, her personal relationship history would not have any impact on how Harris would do the job, or set her apart from Trump – a known serial adulterer and abuser of women who got where he is in life thanks to family money and connections.

Beyond run-of-the-mill misogyny focused on alleged promiscuity, Trump’s “macho” supporters have also accused Harris of being a “home wrecker” (due to a past relationship with a man who at the time was separated, but not yet divorced, from his wife); of actually being a man who transitioned to live as a woman (this one is hard to decipher, but perhaps the suggestion is that she would not have been this successful in politics if she was a natural-born woman?); and of “not having a stake in the future of the country” due to her not having any biological children. Harris, the only child of a couple of first-generation Black and South Asian immigrants, has also been accused of not being Black enough (because she is half South Asian), not being South Asian enough (because she is half Black!) and not being American enough (because she was born to immigrant parents).

Overall, throughout the campaign season, the MAGA movement seemed to be making the case that Harris should not be elected president because as a woman, she is morally, physically and emotionally weak and not equipped to lead the “strong and manly” American nation at this moment of crisis and hardship.

Looking at the current Trump campaign’s apparent success – despite all his scandals and 34 criminal convictions, Trump remains neck and neck with Harris in all the latest polls – and his shocking 2016 victory against the political powerhouse that is Hillary Clinton, some began to suggest that maybe America is not yet ready – and will never be ready – to elect a woman as leader.

While these pessimists are undoubtedly right about the misogyny and sexism of the US society, and the uphill battle female candidates face in American politics, they seem to be ignoring two important facts. One, Clinton, who carried much heavier political baggage than Harris, despite losing the Electoral College, won the popular vote in 2016. And two, this year, despite all the misogyny, the slurs and the insults, Kamala Harris is not at all behind in the polls, and has a very real chance of winning this election.

Sure, a majority of men (especially white men) seem to be supporting Trump’s machismo and showing up for him (an October poll by Economist/YouGov showed that Trump has a massive 52 percent to 43 percent lead over Harris among male voters). But women, who are well aware of how damaging four years of Trump has been to their rights, are also showing up for Harris. According to a recent poll by the Harvard Institute of Politics, Harris leads amongst women 18-29 by a whopping 30 points. In battleground states like Arizona and Michigan, tens of thousands of women, and especially young women, are known to have voted early to ensure a Harris victory.

So, a woman can still take over the White House in the near future. If Harris wins the election and becomes the first female president of the United States, however, American misogyny that Trump exposed, took advantage of, and deepened, will not disappear overnight.

Just as the election of President Barack Obama in 2008 did not mark the end of racism in American society, the possible election of Harris in 2024 will not end misogyny and sexism in the country.

This is partly because Kamala Harris is no true feminist.

The Democratic vice president panders to transgender ideology. She appears willing to allow men who say they are women to trample upon the hard-earned sex-based rights of women in the name of “inclusivity”. She is supportive of so-called “gender-affirming” medical interventions, which needlessly maim physically healthy women and girls, and often turn them into life-long medical patients. She is the first mainstream US presidential candidate to support the blanket decriminalisation of prostitution (which she refers to as “sex work”). In many ways, Harris is no friend to women, either. And, sadly, she may be acting this way because she believes true feminism cannot win an American election.

But, even if Harris, for whatever reason, cannot seem to define what a woman is, Trump most certainly can. In his bigoted, misogynistic mind, women are sexual playthings, mothers and carers, and not full human beings with rights, opinions and freedoms.

This is why, if I were an American, I would not hesitate to vote for Harris over Trump despite all my misgivings about her feminist credentials.

We will find out, in a matter of days, whether enough Americans of all sexes concerned about women’s rights reach the same conclusion, show up at the polls to support Harris and manage to put an end to the misogyny fest that has been Trump’s political career.

But whatever political reality we wake up to on November 6, this election season – and the misogyny, hate and violence against women it normalised – will have consequences. Going forward, women will be more scared to put themselves forward for public office, knowing the harassment and lies they will have to face merely for being a woman seeking power and authority. The abuse Harris endured in the past few months, not for her politics but her sex, has proved America is not yet a feminist nation, and it is definitely not ready to elect a true feminist as leader.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.