Many young progressives who were hesitant to embark on another Joe Biden presidency are now eager to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris — and they’re up against fellow online leftists who aren’t on the same page.
In the days since Biden suspended his re-election campaign, progressive circles began to celebrate the news Rally behind Harris. But some left-leaning social media users were quick to criticize the willingness of progressives to vote”the police,” and some pro-Palestinian voters argued that Harris’ foreign policy would just as intolerable Like Biden.
However, many TikToks and X posts soon criticized Harris’ narrative. is equal to former president donald trump is listed There are many ways to believe in Trump’s presidency it would be worse for marginalized communities at home and abroad. Many also criticized the anti-Harris left for failing to come up with a better solution, blaming them. performance activity.
Charley Furey, a 28-year-old musician from New Jersey, said he fears how a second Trump presidency will affect LGBTQ+ rights. Biden, who is too mild-mannered for his tastes, said he wept with relief when he announced he would step aside because, for the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful that a Democratic candidate could defeat Trump.
“Some on the left want a 100% morally pure option that doesn’t exist in our current political system. I wish it was like that, but no,” said Fury shared his disappointment On TikTok. “And it annoys me that instead of using their vote to change the ways they can change, they’re throwing their hands up and hacking the system. It’s a run-on, and it’s completely antithetical to what we on the left are supposed to stand for.”
Progressives have previously expressed their displeasure with the president Support for Israel’s military campaign In Gaza, his climate policy and his Attempts to ban TikTok, among other concerns. Harris has been similarly criticized for it in the past criminal justice policy As California’s attorney general, and recently for appearing to share Biden’s position on Israel.
After the reaction, many on the Internet a viral quote During a 2021 critique of the left’s “politics of resentment” by YouTube political and cultural commentator ContraPoints video essay: “They don’t want victory, they don’t want power, they want to “criticize” power endlessly.”
ContraPoints, whose real name is Natalie Wynn, told NBC News that this is a long-standing tension among people on the left.
“It’s the same argument we face every four years: Is the Democrat good enough, or is it a terrible moral compromise to vote for this candidate who doesn’t live up to XYZ progressive morals?” he said.
Wynn said he tends to be more progressive than the Democratic Party, but is reluctant to call himself a leftist because of his “online left” — a camp that many say “didn’t make a noticeable difference, other than basically managing the amount” of the voter suppression campaign.
“Anyone who is president of the United States inevitably gets blood on their hands at some point,” Wynn said. “And I think people should never be held accountable for what the government does if they don’t vote or if they vote for a candidate they know won’t win.”
User X is among the progressives who @commodifythis Harris criticized his constituents online. According to the online stalker, the user, who requested anonymity, describes himself as a long-time supporter of Palestine and sparked backlash for his posts that he would not support Harris unless the candidate called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The Pennsylvania native, 28, said he doesn’t buy the “lesser of two evils” argument presented by Harris voters.
“Even if this argument has weight, it’s not convincing to people who are on the fence. “I think people need a reason to vote for someone other than another person being bad,” he said. “Because I think we probably agree on this, but I need some kind of commitment from Kamala Harris to know that her presidency is going to fix all the things that are going to be bad for Donald Trump.”
He said he was being rebuffed for his stance, which he felt was an unempathetic and unconvincing response to the concerns of other netizens.
“I think if I were them, maybe I would say, ‘I hope he takes a position that will convince you to vote for him, and if he doesn’t, I hope there are other positions that will convince you to vote for him.’ Instead of insulting me or saying I’m privileged when you don’t know who I am,” she said.
For many online renewable energy Around Harris, it comes from the perception that the vice president is both progressive and generally more palatable to young people — making him more electable than Biden.
Amelia Kimball, a college student at the University of Texas at Austin who describes herself as left-leaning, said she hopes for Harris’ candidacy, although she is critical of him. He said he believes Biden has no chance of defeating Trump this time, especially after that stupid argument in June and the latest assassination attempt galvanized public support For Trump.
“Kamala Harris is simply younger, more alive, able to answer questions consistently and immediately. It’s going to get people more excited about him,” said Kimball, 21. “I think Joe Biden has been so uninspired that the bar was really low in terms of what people would be more excited about.”
Wynn noted that most on the left will probably never find a “perfect candidate” in a major presidential candidate.
“Unfortunately, American presidential elections are decided by Midwestern voters, not by socialists on Twitter,” he said. “So you see candidates tend to say things that don’t seem appealing to socialist Twitter.”