Vice President Kamala Harris got caught on a hot mic while chatting with campaign surrogate and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) — and then tried to laugh it off after she appeared to admit that her team was struggling to reach male voters.
Harris, who was catapulted to the top of the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket after President Joe Biden was effectively forced out of the race, has continued to poll poorly among male voters despite a series of targeted efforts to mitigate that weakness. Sitting down with Whitmer at a bar, Harris seemed to acknowledge that shortcoming before she realized that there were eyes and ears — and cameras and microphones — everywhere.
WATCH:
Kamala appears to acknowledge she’s struggling with male voters before noticing there are “microphones in here just listening to everything.”
“Shit! Ha ha ha!”
Fakest candidate ever. pic.twitter.com/ETYniX2wqW
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 27, 2024
Harris, sitting down with the Michigan Governor for a beer, appeared to tell Whitmer that “we need to move ground with men” before turning to see a camera on her.
“Oh, we have microphones in here just listening to everything,” Harris said as she and Whitmer looked around the room. “I didn’t realize that.”
Harris laughed and added, “So … now you tell us.”
“You’ll bleep my f-words,” Whitmer joked.
“We just told all the family secrets,” Harris said, still laughing. “S**t!”
Harris turned back to Whitmer and said, “Anyway, it’s good to see you …”
Harris’ hot mic revelation followed a number of polls indicating that her campaign is flagging among male voters. In the final weeks of the presidential contest, Harris’ team has made a series of efforts to reach out to male voters. Vice presidential nominee and Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) participated in a pheasant hunt and appeared on a Twitch-stream alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have also hit the campaign trail, speaking to men directly at times in their efforts to push Harris across the finish line.
But as CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings noted, the Obama-method of scolding men to get them to comply might not move the needle as much as they might hope.
“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,” Jennings said. “The story tonight is they’re struggling with men, Obama’s insulting men, and they’re out saying, ‘Let’s fix it by sending Tim Walz out and hiring Mitt Romney, it’s crazy to me!”
