Academic studies have shown that women face different barriers in terms of public perception, and Ms. Harris is not just a woman but also the first woman of color on a major-party ticket.
Jennifer Lawless, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia who has studied gender dynamics, said that women generally had to show they were capable of standing up to “being bullied” but that Ms. Harris faced an extra hurdle.
“Because she is also a woman of color, she also has to walk that ‘Don’t look too angry’ line,” Ms. Lawless said. “These are cliché. But they’re cliché because they’re true.”
The mild-mannered Mr. Pence is unlikely to bully or even directly broach any gendered lines the way Mr. Trump might. But the impact of audience perception remains.
For months, the Trump campaign has tried to raise doubts about Mr. Biden’s fitness while attempting to cast Ms. Harris as its true foil, the real — and more liberal — power center in a potential Biden White House.
“She symbolizes everything that ‘Make America Great Again’ wants to push back on by virtue of being a Black woman,” Ms. Lawless said.
Attack or defend?
In 2016, Mr. Pence had a clear three-step strategy every time his vice-presidential rival, Mr. Kaine, attacked Mr. Trump. He offered a quick defense of Mr. Trump (Step 1); moved quickly to talk about the aspirations of a Trump presidency (Step 2); and swung into an attack on the Democrats (Step 3).
But striking the balance between attack and defend could be a particular challenge for Mr. Pence this time.
For one thing, after four years, there’s more to defend. This would have been a much different debate nine months ago, when Mr. Pence could have talked about the humming economy, job growth and a generally confident electorate. Now, Mr. Pence is going to be talking about the pandemic, the failure so far of Congress and the White House to come up with a stimulus plan and an economy that has gone off the rails.
For another, Mr. Trump has not had much luck attacking Mr. Biden so far; the former vice president has proved an elusive target, certainly when compared with Mrs. Clinton. Perhaps Mr. Pence will have more success.
But he has a third task as well: attacking Ms. Harris. Mr. Trump’s efforts at portraying Ms. Harris as a stalking horse for more liberal policies, who would be the power behind a Biden presidency, has resonated with the right. But those voters were already with Mr. Trump. The task for Mr. Pence is to make them resonate with any remaining undecided voters.
A preview of 2024?
Almost every vice-presidential debate is about two elections at once: the current one and the one that will follow — because so many vice presidents, and vice-presidential candidates, eventually run for president. (A quick recent list: John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, George H.W. Bush, Al Gore and, of course, Mr. Biden.)
This face-off is especially significant because of how soon both Mr. Pence and Ms. Harris could be leading their parties, given the ages of Mr. Trump (74) and Mr. Biden (77) and the specter of the coronavirus, from which Mr. Trump continues to recover.
Mr. Biden has already talked about himself as a “bridge” to the next generation of Democratic leaders. If he wins, he will be enabling Ms. Harris to cross that bridge as the first among equals among Democrats vying for that leadership mantle.
Mr. Trump has evinced no interest in transitioning out of power or the spotlight, but Mr. Pence is widely believed to have presidential ambitions of his own. The former governor of Indiana has treated his vice presidency mostly as an exercise — often a difficult one — to maintain zero political daylight between himself and Mr. Trump. But plenty of other Republicans are already circling around the 2024 election and seeking the mantle of Trumpism; Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has been building his profile, and the former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley was recently in New Hampshire.
Source: New York Times
