Vice President Kamala Harris has embraced non-traditional media sources to reach more voters – and undeniably played a role in shifting politics into a new media sphere. Platforms outside of the usual news mediums cater to younger viewership, and her TikTok alone has massive engagement with Gen Z. Millennial and Gen Z voters are projected to make up 48.5% of eligible voters in the upcoming 2024 election, making it increasingly important to reach these audiences.
TikTok is not the only platform that Kamala Harris has leveraged in her campaign. Recently, Harris made a guest appearance on Call Her Daddy, a wildly popular podcast. Statistically, women have had a higher turnout than men in elections since 1980, and her appearance on the show underscores a strategic campaign decision that reflects her desire to reach the young female voting demographic.
Call Her Daddy is a comedy, mental health, pop culture, and story podcast hosted by Alex Cooper. Cooper interviews therapists, celebrities, and anyone who has a woman’s perspective. She discusses sensitive topics in a comedic way and is known for her sex-positive content.
The show is a podcast with the highest women’s engagement and is ranked the second most popular podcast on Spotify. It is one step behind Joe Rogan Experience, which inversely caters to a young male demographic.
The platform, up until this interview, had never introduced politicians. However, Alex Cooper said she couldn’t turn down the opportunity given that either outcome of the election will critically impact women. Former president Trump has also been offered an invitation on the show. However, he is unlikely to accept it.
The interview begins very mildly with Cooper questioning Harris about the values that her mother instilled in her. Its tone contrasts the news media format which typically jumps straight into policy. Usually, Cooper likes to maintain a conversational tone to encourage raw and authentic discussion, and she has stated in the past that she has foregone questions if she feels guests are uncomfortable. Cooper’s low-risk interview style was likely why Harris was eager to interview on her show.
Following the opening question, Harris told the story of why she became a sexual assault prosecutor, speaking briefly about her desire to protect the vulnerable and restore survivors’’ power. She included the details about her friend Wanda’s experience of sexual abuse within her own home and underlined it as a driving factor in her choice to pursue criminal prosecution as a career.
A significant question Cooper posed was, “how can we make this country safer for women?” In response, Harris talked about how economic freedom can provide more options to women who are afraid to leave for their children’s sake. Expanding access to housing, childcare, and personal expenses will increase women’s ability to leave while supporting their children.
She then talked about how Trump elected three members of the Supreme Court with the desire to overturn Roe V. Wade. “Here’s the thing is that you don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree. The government shouldn’t be telling her what to do. If she chooses, she’ll talk to her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling you what to do.”
Another prominent issue discussed was Gen Z and Millennial’s distaste for having kids due to financial limitations. To combat the issue she talked about increasing the housing supply in tandem with the private sector and homebuilders in addition to creating tax incentives to build a targeted 3 million more housing units. Additionally, she suggests offering a $25,000 down payment in housing assistance for first time buyers and applying tax credits for the first year of a child’s life.
Although there has been some criticism of the interview being conducted by someone not from traditional media, it’s not about who is doing the interviewing, but who is listening. Women are registered to vote at higher rates than men and, with the repeal of Roe V. Wade, that gap could widen. Additionally, younger generations are increasingly involved in politics, and have the potential to shift the election. Newer, non-traditional platforms such as Call Her Daddy have the ability to reach targeted viewers. It would be a waste to not take advantage of that.
Acknowledgment: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.
