Cat lovers vote for Kamala Harris

A few months ago, in an post on Instagram in support of Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift signed herself as “Childless Cat Lady,” or “gattara senza figli.” In the photo, the American singer embraces one of her three cats, Benjamin, with whom she had already been photographed for a Time cover story. This was a clear critique of Trump’s campaign: a few weeks prior, a 2021 Fox News interview with J.D. Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, had emerged, in which he claimed that the United States was governed by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who aren’t satisfied with their lives.” Vance was specifically referring to some Democratic Party figures, including Kamala Harris, whom he mentioned explicitly. “When Vance says Harris is one of many childless cat ladies […] he’s expressing a series of sexist and racist ideas, implying that only certain women can be considered ‘real women.’ That is, married mothers, while all others are societal exceptions,” wrote journalist Tressie McMillan Cottom in the New York Times. In response to these accusations, many people expressed solidarity with Harris’s candidacy by posting pictures of their cats online and on social media. This eventually led to the creation of entire campaigns, like Pet Lovers for Kamala and Cat Ladies For Kamala, which, among other things, encourage people to register to vote. “If you’re still undecided, ask your cat who to vote for!” wrote one user commenting on a reel by Cat Ladies For Kamala, which has raised over $400,000 in support of Harris’s candidacy through themed initiatives and merchandise.

But Vance’s remarks weren’t the only ones that brought cats into the spotlight in the U.S. electoral campaign. During a televised debate among the presidential candidates last September, Trump stated that in Springfield, Ohio, illegal immigrants were supposedly stealing residents’ pets to eat them — a conspiracy theory originating from U.S. far-right circles. This incident sparked numerous online hate campaigns against the Haitian community, and in the following weeks, images created with artificial intelligence, showing Trump surrounded by animals, including cats and dogs, began circulating on social networks. The Republican candidate himself posted such images on his accounts – one of these shows an orange cat with a sign that says “Kamala hates me”. This bizarre strategy by the Republican Party drew much attention, resulting in numerous jokes and memes on social media, which further damaged Trump’s rhetoric. Even Kamala Harris, during their televised debate, laughed as the Republican candidate explained the absurd story about migrants eating dogs and cats, later using his statements to highlight her opponent’s extremism.

Thanks to Trump and Vance’s bizarre statements about pets, the chosen theme for New York’s famous Halloween parade was indeed cats. ​​“We were a bit lost, then one day Vance made that remark about childless cat ladies, and everything changed. [...] Shortly after, Trump started talking about immigrants eating cats: for us, it was the perfect storm,” explained Jeanne Fleming, the artistic producer of the event, to Manifesto – for the 2024 edition, titled “Meow,” which, as every year, drew tens of thousands of participants, many of whom dressed as cats. This entire narrative seems to be benefiting Harris, who in recent weeks has seized the opportunity to present herself more as a non-divisive candidate, capable of uniting all American citizens, even those who won’t vote for her. To this end, she has started using more positive and optimistic tones, saying that hers is a politics of joy, not based on being against something, but on being for something. Trump, on the other hand, continued to favor aggressive and violent tones during the final days of the campaign, insulting and threatening people and institutions that do not support him.