2024 US Election: The Battle between an Angry Old Man and a Cat Lady

On the eve of Sept. 11 in the U.S., presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris had their first debate face to face.

Afterward, media outlets from various countries reported that Harris won since Trump not only became infuriated but also went on tangents Harris set out for him. This made him appear angry and also revealed the fatigue of age. The debate sculpted an image of a rageful old man.

In the past, Trump’s anger and vivid and insulting language was useful in debates against Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, because both of them were long-established in politics and had too many weaknesses that could be exploited. However, Harris’ political record is too short, and compared with Trump’s “angry old man” image, Harris seems honest and pure. Add Harris’ unexpected eloquence and steady manner and no wonder media outlets believed she won handily against Trump.

Actually, I think Harris was very successful in controlling the discussion topics. The ABC reporters began by immediately asking about the economy, believing that Harris’ economic policies were unclear; Trump thinks Harris hasn’t proposed any concrete economic policies at all. Harris’ answer was extremely successful because she only had two minutes in which to explain her position and could not get into details. She repeated what she said in her Democratic National Convention nomination speech, and what she has been explaining since the beginning: Her proposed “opportunity economy” will give every person the opportunity to succeed, and the rest is just details she skates over. Trump mistakenly thought this was an opportunity to be seized, and he chided her for having “no plan at all,” and then self-righteously labeled her “another Biden.” Harris skillfully deflected this by replying, “You’re debating me,” which was enough to make the viewers at home think Trump is an angry old man who talks nonsense, unfairly labels people and is an unfit candidate living in the past.

I think the most sensitive issue Harris about which needled Trump was abortion. Trump’s stance opposing abortion is very clear, even though he has amended it by saying people in each state can decide the issue at the ballot box. People may not understand the relationship between Trump and the Supreme Court’s decision to declare abortion unconstitutional. However, Harris asserted that abortion is a woman’s right, and women can decide whether they want children. If a pregnancy is unintended or due to incest or sexual assault, what are women supposed to do if they cannot get an abortion? In his retort, Trump spoke of Alabama’s vote on abortion, mentioned in vitro fertilization without elaborating, and was clearly evasive. However, in response to Harris’ and the Democrats’ support for abortion, he asserted that abortion at seven or eight months was “executing” life. His logic left people speechless because an abortion toward the end of a pregnancy means there is a grave problem with the mother and fetus. Only after careful communication and serious consideration by the pregnant woman and her doctor would surgery be performed. What is the difference between Trump’s harsh use of “execution” and Biden’s appearance of dementia?

On the topic of abortion, Harris has skillfully combined the freedom to choose with feminism, highlighting the surreptitious “male chauvinist” attitude with which Trump and people like him treat women. This has turned the election into a battle to “protect women” and “support gender equality.”

And sure enough, as soon as the debate ended, Taylor Swift — the singer who is believed to have revolutionized 21st century country, rock and pop music, whose music has spread worldwide and who has global influence — immediately posted support for Harris. She also purposely signed her post as a “cat lady” because three years ago Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance, criticized Harris as someone who didn’t understand the real situation because she doesn’t have children, and women like her only raise cats instead. Actually, “cat ladies,” or “childless cat ladies” is slang for “weird women.” This is essentially insulting sexism toward women. Swift, who also doesn’t have children, is a proponent of feminism and gender equality, so it’s no wonder she signed off as a “cat lady” after clearly stating her support for Harris. You must know that Swift is considered a genius in the music world, and in addition to winning countless awards, she has set records with her 200 million streams of her albums*. Younger Americans really like her, and she has influenced tens of thousands of fans.

Actually, after Vance became Trump’s vice presidential pick, “cat ladies” began circulating online. In July, Jennifer Aniston, the well-known Hollywood actor and star of the famous show “Friends” and “The Morning Show,” made a rare criticism of Vance. On her Instagram account, she posted about Vance’s interview, writing, “I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States.” [https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/jennifer-aniston-slams-jd-vances-comments-childless-cat/story?id=112268268][mb]

The issue of abortion may affect as many as 25 million American women, and approximately 950,000 abortions are performed every year. If women all vote for one side, it could have a huge impact on the election results. “Cat lady” Swift’s announcement seems to have had a domino effect, and now WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark has encouraged people all over the country to register to vote. When asked whether she supports Harris, Clark said she agrees with Swift’s approach. Clark is a Swift fan and has 2.9 million Instagram followers of her own and almost 500,000 followers on X. Her influence is quite large, and now she is urging people to register to have the right to vote. Her support for Harris, while unspoken, is clear.

During the debate, Harris specifically mentioned the Republican Party’s Project 2025, in which it says that if Trump returns to the White House, pregnant women will be monitored to prevent abortion. Project 2025 is the masterpiece of the Heritage Foundation, a Republican think tank, and is not a policy plan Trump proposed. Trump himself has continually denied having anything to do with it. However, it is undeniable that it was written by many people from his administration, and most policy plans Republicans adopt are proposed by the Heritage Foundation. Polls conducted by the media show that many respondents believe Project 2025 is related to Trump.

The U.S. election unexpectedly has become a battle between feminism and male chauvinism. And especially since the debate, it has become a fight between an angry old man and a cat lady. Even before the results are determined, this fierce and serious election has given us some interesting and attention-grabbing topics to discuss.

*Editor’s note: In fact, streams of Taylor Swift’s albums have passed the 300 million mark.