CNN Newsroom host Jim Acosta welcomed a four-person panel on Friday to explain Vice President Kamala Harris’s appeal to Gen Z voters. He wondered if old people simply don’t get it while other panelists tried to hype her as the “cool aunt.”
One of Acosta’s guests was Time senior correspondent Charlotte Alter and Acosta began by noting that Harris is “vastly outperforming Biden right now with young voters by 16 percentage points.”
He then asked her, “What is stirring this excitement? I mean, I think I remember at the time when she made that comment about the context in which we all live. I mean, people were, you know, criticizing that as being a bit of a word salad. But, you know, I've heard from a lot of younger folks over the last several days who just love that comment. So, I mean, is it just like the older folks not getting with the younger folks are thinking these days? What do you think?”
Alter wasn’t convinced it wasn’t just grumpy old people not being up with the youths, but a combination of anti-Trumpism and anti-Bidenism, “And you would see in the polling over the course of this whole year, younger voters saying over and over again, we want somebody else, we want somebody else. We don't want these same old, got two old white guys over and over again. Not just any old white guys, the same two old white guys who ran last time. You'd see that over and over in the polling.”
Gen Z liberals can hype someone’s race and gender as a way to hype their candidates, but when Republicans notice, Acosta and his guests will cry racism.
Later in the segment, Acosta turned to Voters of Tomorrow Executive Director Santiago Mayer and wondered, “How can Kamala Harris lean into these viral moments… of what the young people call ‘cringe’ which even somebody of advanced age like myself, I know what that means. I’m also capable of cringe moments myself, but how does the candidate not fall into that trap?”
For Mayer, Harris simply has to be herself, “I think that as long as she remains true to who she is, she will be just fine, and I think that's really why we're seeing sort of a social media movement that we're seeing behind her because she is very relatable.”
He insisted that Harris is just a bundle of fun, “She is fun, you were showing some of the videos with the Brat music and at the end of the day, what is being a Brat, if not being true to yourself and real and authentic and I think that as long as that continues to be the case, as long as she's not doing anything that she's not, like, perceived to be true to herself, she's going to be fine. I think she is someone who comes across as very fun, as very engaging, is very relatable.”
Mayer also claimed, “I can tell you that's been my experience with her whenever I've interacted with her, and she is someone who really cares about people and is sort of like a cool aunt in a lot of ways, so I think as long as that continues to be the message and that continues to be the image, the memes are going to continue to be successful, and the campaign is going to continue to lean into it.”
Perhaps the only thing more cringe-inducing than a presidential candidate being called “Brat,” is CNN devoting entire segments to aid the campaign’s effort to brand their candidate as one of the cool kids.
Here is a transcript for the July 26 show:
CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta
7/26/2024
10:25 AM ET
JIM ACOSTA: And, Charlotte, a new poll shows Harris pretty much just vastly outperforming Biden right now with young voters by 16 percentage points. That's according to this latest New York Times/Siena College poll. What is stirring this excitement? I mean, I think I remember at the time when she made that comment about the context in which we all live. I mean, people were, you know, criticizing that as being a bit of a word salad. But, you know, I've heard from a lot of younger folks over the last several days who just love that comment. So, I mean, is it just like the older folks not getting with the younger folks are thinking these days? What do you think?
CHARLOTTE ALTER: So, I don't -- it's a great question. I don't actually think it has very much to do with that comment at all. I think we've seen since 2016, in the 2018 midterms, in the 2020 election, and then in the 2022 midterms as well, young voters do not like Trumpism. Millennials and Gen Z are not very attracted to MAGA at all. Instead, the problem for this administration in this race has been that these younger voters weren't particularly attracted to Joe Biden either.And you would see in the polling over the course of this whole year, younger voters saying over and over again, we want somebody else, we want somebody else. We don't want these same old, got two old white guys over and over again. Not just any old white guys, the same two old white guys who ran last time. You'd see that over and over in the polling.
…
ACOSTA: Yeah, and Santiago, how can Kamala Harris lean into these viral moments that Dave was just talking about a few moments ago and avoid the trap of, of what the young people call “cringe” which even somebody of advanced age like myself, I know what that means. I’m also capable of cringe moments myself, but how does the candidate not fall into that trap?
SANTIAGO MAYER: Well, I think that Dave hit the nail on the head. I think that as long as she remains true to who she is, she will be just fine, and I think that's really why we're seeing sort of a social media movement that we're seeing behind her because she is very relatable.
She is fun, you were showing some of the videos with the Brat music and at the end of the day, what is being a Brat, if not being true to yourself and real and authentic and I think that as long as that continues to be the case, as long as she's not doing anything that she's not, like, perceived to be true to herself, she's going to be fine. I think she is someone who comes across as very fun, as very engaging, is very relatable.
I can tell you that's been my experience with her whenever I've interacted with her, and she is someone who really cares about people and is sort of like a cool aunt in a lot of ways, so I think as long as that continues to be the message and that continues to be the image, the memes are going to continue to be successful, and the campaign is going to continue to lean into it.
