Opinion

Editor’s note: The historic opportunity of a Black, female president could be Trump’s biggest nightmare

Momentum is gaining as New York Black women electeds and others have stepped forward with their support for Kamala Harris.

Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan on July 17, 2024.

Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan on July 17, 2024. Chris duMond/Getty Images

As expected, former President Donald Trump blurted out an insult when asked about facing Vice President Kamala Harris instead of President Joe Biden in the November presidential election. “I think she is no better than him,” Trump told CBS News in a telephone interview Sunday night. “She could be far less competent, which is hard to believe.”

Trump likely missed the rally happening online that same evening, which portrayed a different picture of his new adversary’s ability to do the job. Several Black women politicians from New York were among more than 45,000 attendees on a nationwide video call in support of Harris.

City Hall Reporter Sahalie Donaldson reported that Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers, Sandy Nurse and Nantasha Williams joined the effort organized by Win with Black Women, a group formed in 2020 to advocate for Black women in politics. More than $1.5 million was raised in three hours, according to the group. “Throughout the lengthy call, organizers talked about what this moment means for women of color, acknowledged Biden’s decision to step down and shared information about Harris’ history and policy platform as well as action items on how to galvanize supporters,” Donaldson reported.

Support for a Harris presidential bid had already ramped up after Biden failed at his June 27 debate performance. Former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields told City & State that a Harris run would make the former president sweat. “Every legal challenge that he has had to stand up and face in the courts has been led by Black women and a Black man, from Fani Willis in Atlanta, to Letitia James in New York state, to Alvin Bragg in New York City, and Judge Tanya Chutkan,” Fields said. “So he knows that Kamala Harris would be a major threat for him.”