Presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has dealt with issues regarding gender since the beginning of her campaign for the 2020 presidency. She is candid about this, often explaining the various times she has been told to “smile more,” has been called “angry” by an opponent, or been the subject of questions as to whether she could beat President Trump which she often responds to with a funny anecdote. During each of these retellings, she has tactically shifted the narrative away from herself as an individual and toward the work of women throughout history.
In the week before the Iowa caucus, Warren is now confronting these questions and concerns directly. During a town hall in Cedar Rapids this Sunday, Warren declared, “I just want to be clear: Women win!” She addressed how the questions that surround her candidacy as a woman have been generally disguised from the public eye, but are now more explicit, like in Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) comments last month. She said she is “glad to talk about it right up front.” Her new strategy: “presenting her gender as an asset against Trump,” while discussing the barriers that Warren herself, and other women have broken.
As Senator Warren’s time at the town hall in Cedar Rapids drew to a close, one last question presented by a white man with graying hair struck the media, particularly while these questions regarding gender and Senator Warren’s electability remain a concern for voters,. He asked the Senator, “How do you convince white men-who aren’t as smart as me-how do you convince those white men over 50 that Elizabeth Warren’s the candidate?”
Sources: NBC 01/28/2020; The Hill 11/11/2019; CNN 11/09/2019
