Spin Cycle: Kamala Surrogates Explain Away Her Man Problem

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

With less than a month to go before the general election on November 5, the campaigns are pulling out all the stops — and so are the campaign surrogates. Several of them made the rounds on Sunday morning, hitting the political talk shows to spin recent polls showing that Vice President Kamala Harris has a serious problem with male voters.

In recent weeks numerous outlets have reported on the fact that Harris has struggled to gain support among male voters. “Morning Joe” regular Katty Kay laid out the issue just ahead of the vice presidential debate between Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and Senator JD Vance (R-OH), saying, “But it’s men, I think the real struggle for the Harris campaign, is young men, old men, men of color, white men.”

Since then, the Harris campaign has leaned into Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff — but reports of him allegedly engaging in violent behavior with a former girlfriend raised concerns about making him so public-facing in the final weeks of the campaign. Walz has also embarked on a media blitz — but in the space of just one week he managed to call for an end to the Electoral College, tell comedian Jimmy Kimmel (and millions of Americans) that the Vice President of the United States is “the dry cleaner” on his phone, and flub loading his own personal shotgun during a staged pheasant hunt.

This week, they brought in the big (metaphorical) guns: former President Barack Obama. But as CNN commentator Scott Jennings pointed out, Obama’s solution to the men-not-liking-Kamala-Harris problem was to scold them and label them misogynists for not supporting her anyway.

“And you are thinking about sitting out?” Obama asked. “Part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

Jennings responded by saying, “This plea he’s making to African American men, I mean, he said today – he insulted them! … I don’t think it’s helpful to insult a group of people who are already not enthusiastic about your campaign, but I think that’s what he did today.”

But the Democratic Party does not appear to have gotten the message. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) doubled down on Obama’s rhetoric on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” where he told host Margaret Brennan that he believed misogyny was behind a lot of the reluctance to support Harris.

“I think President Obama was just having some very serious tough talk, right, tough love,” Frost added. “He was speaking directly to young Black voters, young Black men specifically, and making sure that they understand [that] look, sometimes you have to take a step back and look at your own bias,” he said.

.@RepMaxwellFrost says he shares former President Obama’s concern about sexism impacting support for Harris among some male voters. “I think President Obama was just having some very serious tough talk, right, tough love,” Frost added. “He was speaking directly to young Black… pic.twitter.com/1dfSkwIGLQ

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 13, 2024

Frost went on to suggest that young voters might bridge the gap, however — despite the fact that voters aged 18-29 are typically the least active voting bloc.

“Young people are voting at the highest numbers in our country’s history,” he said. “We’re trending in the right direction. We just need to continue to reach out to young people, not take those votes for granted.”

"We can do better" to engage young voters, says @RepMaxwellFrost, but he adds that he has seen "a lot of enthusiasm and excitement around this election" among young people.

“Young people are voting at the highest numbers in our country's history,” Frost tells @margbrennan.… pic.twitter.com/pLn0pV3TtI

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 13, 2024

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” anchor Dana Bash asked Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) to weigh in on the situation, and he conceded that he is concerned about the lack of enthusiasm for Harris particularly among black males — and he worried that some might simply not vote at all.

“I am concerned about black men staying home or voting for Trump,” he said, explaining that they may feel like Harris has not done enough to tell them what she would do for them and their community as president.

.@RepJamesClyburn tells @DanaBashCNN, “Yes, I am concerned about Black men staying home or voting for Trump.” pic.twitter.com/Unj6bftip7

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 13, 2024

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) also joined the program, and he started off by trying to run cover for Obama.

“I have a great deal of respect for President Obama, and he wasn’t talking to all Black men. He was talking to men who we’re talking about sitting on the sidelines,” he explained.

.@SenatorWarnock responds to Barack Obama’s sharp criticism of Black men on the fence about Harris: “I have a great deal of respect for President Obama, and he wasn't talking to all Black men. He was talking to men who we're talking about sitting on the sidelines.” pic.twitter.com/LlRXMqmXAb

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 13, 2024

Warnock then tried to wave away concerns about black men voting Republican, claiming that it would never happen in any real way: “We’re not a monolith, but this idea that large numbers of black men are going to vote for Donald Trump, it’s not going to happen.”

“We're not a monolith, but this idea that large numbers of Black men are going to vote for Donald Trump, it's not going to happen.”@SenatorWarnock responds to concerns from Democrats that some Black men could stay home or vote for Trump in November. pic.twitter.com/qUZ835kjM2

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 13, 2024

Jennings wasn’t buying any of that, however, and during a panel discussion to round out the program, he argued that the Democrats’ efforts to reach out to male voters was likely too little, too late.

“They’re struggling with — I mean, the front page of The New York Times this morning, Democrats struggling with African-American voters, particularly African-American men — this gender gap issue is real,” he said.

“It’s a real problem and you see the Democrats reacting to it, and I think what they are now — finally in October of the election coming to realize — is that a lot of men think Democrats care more about dudes who want to become women than they do about dudes who just wanna be dudes,” Jennings said, continuing over the outraged protests of several fellow panelists. “No amount of hunting cosplay or cringy videos is gonna change it. The bed is made.”

Me, on Harris’s problems w/ working class men of all races on @cnn: “Alot of men think Democrats care more about dudes who want to become women than they do about dudes just wanna be dudes. No amount of hunting cosplay or cringy videos is gonna change it. The bed is made.” pic.twitter.com/X5BW2xJzOj

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) October 13, 2024

To top it off, the most recent NBC poll suggests that any lead Harris gained after the September 10 debate on ABC has evaporated, leaving her and former President Trump locked in a dead heat with just over three weeks to go.

NEW: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are deadlocked in the latest NBC News poll.@SteveKornacki breaks down the numbers on #MTP. pic.twitter.com/9PiPiwVCoA

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 13, 2024