Overqualified Woman vs Mediocre White Man

Every meme about women being overqualified and not getting the respect they deserve came to life on prime time TV

The first debate between Kamala Harris and Trump happened last night, and it was like every meme about women being overqualified and not getting the respect they deserve came to life on prime time TV. Harris commanded respect the moment she walked on stage, quickly crossing to Trump’s side of the podium, forcing him to acknowledge her presence. Trump barely offered his hand, and spent the entirety of the debate refusing to even refer to Harris by name, just 90 minutes of “she” this and “her” that. He even referred to President Biden as “her boss.” Misogyny drips from Trump the way experience drips from Harris.

It was jarring to see how outmatched he was; Harris refined, articulate, informed and steadfast — Trump flustered, confused, blubbering and amassing almost as many lies as he has felony convictions (CNN counted 33 as of this morning.) “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” is an actual quote from last night, Trump jumping on a debunked Facebook meme about Haitian immigrants in Ohio like a racist uncle would. I wasn’t expecting him to top the “Democrats are executing babies after they’re born” claim — but here we are.

After the initial knee-jerk laughing at his absolute pathetic performance, the only thing left was exhaustion. And anger. The debate was a perfect illustration of the hill professional women everywhere climb, every day. Harris, knowing she’s better than Trump in every way — more experience, more schooling, more years of public service — forced to share a stage and try to convince us all that she’s the better choice. And we’re still not convinced; the latest polls show Harris has only a three point lead over Trump, which is essentially not a lead at all.

I’m tired.

I’m tired that Trump is a thing. Trump should not be a thing. Trump is a moron. Trump is racist. Trump is a felon and a rapist. Trump stood on stage in front of 51 million viewers and lied repeatedly. Big lies. Crazy lies, like doctors execute babies after they’re born and immigrants are eating household pets. Trump is an insult to all American people and it’s terrifying that he is even in the race. It’s unthinkable that this guy was actually our president at one time. It’s insane that anyone would be questioning Harris’ fit for office against this dude. Really.

It’s an insult to women everywhere that this is a close race. But in a country where so many are a-ok with our our bodily autonomy being stripped, I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise.