Harris has to persuade those who are on the fence about her sincerity since their supporters only see what they want to see.
Since authenticity is the trait that American culture most desires but is also extremely rare and difficult to define, I have been thinking about it for a number of years.
In our current presidential contest, this is evident in the manner that fans of Donald Trump regard him as a straight shooter who always says what he means, while opponents see him as a snake-oil salesman who would say anything to achieve what he wants.
Similarly, Republicans see a chameleon that changes its political colors more frequently than the pride flag, while supporters of Kamala Harris see a seasoned public servant with decades of experience under her belt.
Which of these is real? Not one of them? Authenticity: what is it?
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My own quest to identify the elusive characteristic started at Hinano, a little dive bar on Venice Beach. I had just finished a journey from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and on the last day, I had passed through around six distinct Bob Ross paintings, featuring moonscapes, Indian trade stations, and deathly colorless deserts with hunter green forests in between.
My drink and burger gave me what Jack Kerouac famously called “end of the land sadness,” but the company was excellent, and as I looked around, I noticed that there was sawdust on the floor and that there was a Beach Boys cover band playing. But was this really the Beach Boys? I pondered.
Though Hinano has been there since 1962 and was reportedly a favorite of Jim Morrison, it also had the feel of everyone acting as though we were in a different era, perhaps a 1960s California Renaissance Fair. And I could keep both of those concepts in my head with ease.
On Wednesday, when Donald Trump had a very comical interview at the National Association of Black Journalists, essentially stating that Harris had only lately begun referring to herself as Indian, I couldn’t help but think about Hinano. Anger and outrage erupted for around fifteen minutes, after which they largely vanished.
I found one angry woman and asked her whether she felt any votes would shift as a result of it. She quickly replied, “no.”
Those I spoke with, both Republican and Democrat, agreed right away that this was just Trump being unabashedly Trump. However, Trump is also a very special sort of person.
For half a century, Donald Trump has been a household name. He is known for being a fashionable contrarian and for never backing down or apologizing. Despite the fact that all of this has been entirely constant, many who despise him feel as though Trump is wearing a mask because he has been portraying a character or a brand for fifty years and is unable to take it off.
Things are a little different with Harris. The fact that she appears to be shifting her opinions on everything from health care to fracking without facing opposition from the leftist media has angered Republican voters. This is how they define inauthenticity un the dictionary. However, Democratic voters don’t perceive it that way.
