Vice President Kamala Harris and Hallie Jackson of NBC met in Washington, D.C. Tuesday for a little girl talk. Both wore power pantsuits. It’s what professional gals in D.C. are wearing this season. Shoulder pads are back, by the way.

Actually, it was an interview about how Harris would handle the presidency if elected, but Jackson got mired down in a long discussion about girl power. A good 10 minutes was spent on gender, and the undertone hinted that maybe Americans are not sophisticated enough to handle a female president.

It has been pretty rare to see Harris pressed on questions during interviews, especially at NBC, a certified member of the Harris Fan Club. To her credit, Jackson did press Harris, but not on a revelatory issue; on the girl thing. She asked four questions about her sex, and each time Harris politely deflected the question, downplaying the topic.

“Back in 2019 … you said that the elephant in the room was whether the country was ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president,” Hallie said. “So, let me ask you, as you sit here today, do you think the country is ready now for a woman and a woman of color to be president?”

“Absolutely,” Harris said, adding that it is important to be “not only turning the page, but closing the chapter on an era that suggests that Americans are divided.” She said that regardless of their race, gender, or age, the American people want a president who focuses on their needs.

Jackson tried again.

“You’ve been reluctant to talk about the historic nature of your candidacy on the campaign trail. Why is that?”

And again.

“There is a big gender gap in this race. Fewer men support you right now than they did President Biden. Some of your allies have suggested there’s sexism at play. I wonder, do you think there is sexism at play here?”

And yet again.

“Do you not see sexism as a factor in this race at all?”

There it is. The sexism card. Don’t you feel bad America, you sexist bunch of man-voters?

Jackson is the true sexist here, making it all about Harris’ sex and sometimes color. If she asked questions like that in any other job interview, it would be employment discrimination.

Imagine interviewing for a job in a sales position (one could argue the presidency is partly sales). There you are in your best pantsuit. You really need this job. And the interviewer goes down this path.

“So, you’re a woman. Are people mean to you? Do you think our company is ready for a woman of color?”

Yuck. Run, Kamala! You don’t want that job.

It is hard to believe that Jackson, herself a woman, felt comfortable pressing on these questions. Has she not been in the work world long enough to understand the male-female dynamic is usually comfortable, rewarding, and an opportunity to bring many perspectives to the table?

Has she not cracked open a history book and read about the many female leaders? Queen Elizabeth; Margaret Thatcher; Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress in 1916; Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first elected female governor in 1925; Hattie Caraway, the first woman elected to the Senate in 1932. The list is so much longer.

Jackson is not interviewing here; she is building a narrative.

Harris never has to cry sexism, the media does it for her. Story after story for months, sexism has been pushed as the reason Harris may not win.

Please, stop degrading women and our boundless potential with this tired pity party. In the United States, opportunity is there for all. But you have to work for it.

Mabey Harris doesn’t know how. We are dealing with a woman who has been given so much. A privileged, upper-middle-class upbringing, two educated parents, a college education. It is more than many have had, even if she tries to play it as a near-hard luck story. Harris was gifted the vice presidency because President Biden was looking for a woman of color to fill the role. That’s pretty sexist.

The candidacy for the presidency was also handed to her with little effort. The trick now is to offer something the American people want.

But if it doesn’t work out, don’t blame sexism.

---

Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.