An American Travesty: Thoughts on Kamala Harris' Defeat

Official Portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris

Of course, there’s a part of me that finds Vice President Harris’ defeat “suspicious.” Nothing adds up. Every poll said that the race was a “dead heat” and too close to call—even on Election Day morning. What happened to the country not knowing who had won until after Election Night? How was Pennsylvania called so quickly? How were the other states called so quickly?

Didn’t we want to be absolutely sure before a winner was announced, and how did Harris lose the popular vote?

From the moment I started watching the results, to the moment I accepted Harris’ defeat after watching her give her concession speech, I wrestled between numbness and disbelief. As I watched Trump win more and more electoral votes, and Harris stay behind the entire time the votes were counted, I was in disbelief. I attended a watch party because watching at home would be too nerve wrecking. As people ate, listened to music, and talked, people came in and out the viewing room to see what was going on. No one had their eyes glued to the screen the entire time. After a couple hours, the majority of attendees conceded that “our girl” had lost. However, another man and myself said it was too early to call, and wondered how no one remembered the trajectory of last election’s results. We didn’t know Biden had won until Saturday, and Trump was leading at some point.

As the night went on, at one point I stared at the TV screen, the mostly red map, and the numbers showing Harris still trailing, and I started to go numb. Finally, the commentators began saying that from what they were seeing, based on the numbers that were coming in from counties in the Blue Wall (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin), there was no way Harris was going to be victorious.

Still, I proclaimed she was going to win. I had to believe it.

However, by the time I crashed a little after midnight, I knew it was over.

When I woke up, Trump had officially been declared the winner.

I’m grateful to everyone who called and/or texted to check in on me, but I assured everyone that I was okay.

Harris’ defeat wasn’t entirely shocking. I chose to be optimistic, and at some point after Biden’s departure from the race, I did start to believe that she really could win. By the time Tuesday rolled around, I did think she was going to win, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there was always a possibility that she wouldn’t. This is America.

Wasn’t I the one writing, for at least a year, that Trump was ahead in the polls and declaring he shouldn’t be underestimated. No, his civil and criminal cases did not matter. Wasn’t I asking why people were ignoring this information, and claiming the polls were lying, for at least a year? Didn’t I continually point out that Trump has had unwavering, widespread support for almost a decade? Yet, I was told there was no way he was going to win again. Yet, I knew how powerful white supremacy in the country is.

I had to finally let reality set in.

And, when I did, I cried uncontrollably watching Harris give her concession speech. She should have won. She deserved to win. Yet, my sadness wasn’t for her, it was for the state of this country that she could lose to someone like Trump. It was for what’s to come. Harris fought an impressive race with grace, dignity, and integrity. She did everything that she could have. Even if she’d done some things differently, the result would have still been the same. Kamala Harris didn’t fail. America failed Kamala Harris.

Many have pondered why, and how, Harris lost the race. There are many possible theories have been thrown around.

One is Palestine. Specifically, it’s being said that Harris lost Michigan, an important swing state, because of Arab Americans’ refusal to back her unless she unequivocally denounced Israel’s actions towards Gaza and the Biden administration stopped sending arms to Israel. Some have said she was not left enough and ingratiated herself to undecided voters and voters who leaned right instead of listening to the concerns of leftists who would have voted for her. Ultimately, she didn’t get the vote of any of them. There’s also immigration and the economy. Then, of course, there’s the Bradley Effect. This means that many white people who said they’d vote for Harris, when polled, lied. They got to the booth and did the opposite, or they didn’t show up at all.

Twenty million less people showed up to vote for Harris than showed up to vote for Biden four years ago.

Twenty million people just couldn’t bring themselves to vote a Black woman to the highest office in the world.

They chose to sit out, and not use their voice, because they wanted to teach her a lesson for not doing anything differently than any other politician would have done in her shoes. They chose to think in hypotheticals, and what-ifs, with no guarantee that their failure to vote will change anything for the better in the future. It won’t. Trump is going to be the worst option in all ways, and a non-vote, while there’s a two-party system, does not guarantee viable third parties in the future.

In this election, of all elections, this is what people chose to do, and it’s bafflingly stupid.

Ultimately, Harris didn’t win because she’s Black and a woman. Misogynoir. Black women, don’t ever let anyone tell you that your gender doesn’t matter as much as your race. Combined with race, it is indeed, a double whammy. Former President Barack Obama won twice, and he’s half white, for those who questioned Harris’ race and loyalties. Many have remarked that, of course, this country wasn’t going to elect a Black woman when they wouldn’t even elect a white one. Yet, Hillary Clinton still performed better than Harris.

I refuse to believe that anyone, from a standpoint of honesty and integrity, believes Trump will be a better president. He has been the president already. He failed miserably. He was wildly erratic, uncooperative, unprofessional, preposterous, divisive, and hateful. He refused to follow rules, was an international laughing stock, and he’s dumb. Plain and simple. He’s also responsible for the loss of many lives to COVID-19.

He’s also an amoral criminal with dementia, and multiple personal disorders, who only cares about himself. He won’t be leading the country for the next four years because he isn’t mentally competent to do so. It will more than likely be JD Vance, who’s even more extreme, with the help of the Heritage Foundation and conservative billionaires with their own best interests at heart.

Yet, he was elected, because to the majority of this country a white man will always be viewed as more competent than a Black woman.

A Black woman has to be perfect. She has to be everything to everyone. All things to all people. She can’t make missteps. People won’t accept anything less from her. She can’t upset one, single group or fail to meet their demands. If she does, toss her aside. Sure, Trump only has the best interest of those who are just like him at heart—white, wealthy, and male. Yet, he has that right. He’s a white man. And, let’s not forget, many Americans, especially nonblack minorities, aspire to his wealth, his whiteness, and his stature. It doesn’t matter that he deserves none of it, and deserves nothing but scorn instead. It doesn’t matter that he’s incompetent. It doesn’t matter that he already had one disastrous presidency where he attempted to stage a coup, and is open about his desires to overthrow the constitution, weaponize the military for his personal use, stop checks and balances, and extend the reach and power of the office. People who voted for him think he’s about to save the country and usher in a “golden age.”

Yeah right.

I mention nonblack minorities, as well as white women, because many voted for Trump against their own best interests. This is despite the hundreds of times he insulted and demeaned them. This is despite his plans to make their lives miserable. This is because they’re invested in white supremacy, and the unspoken part, antiblackness.

At the end of the day, the people spoke. The majority voted for what they believe in: white supremacy, racial hierarchies, elitism, classism, unchecked capitalism that they do not benefit from, and antiblackness. But, most importantly, white supremacy and antiblackness. These are the foundations of this nation and nothing has changed.

Many groups don’t mind suffering if they think they will suffer less than the next group, or the lowest group on the totem pole.

But, they have overestimated whiteness this time.

While I would like for Trump to actually not destroy the country this second time around—I have little faith that he won’t.

Like many Black women have declared, I’ve washed my hands of this. Don’t look for us to protest or “save the country.” It’s not our job. It wasn’t Harris’ job, and I’m glad she didn’t get it.

The people have spoken.

The have the president they wanted.

They have the president they deserve…

God, have mercy on us all.

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