Vice President Kamala Harris was heard suggesting on a hot mic that her campaign is struggling to court male voters.
The Democratic presidential nominee made the comment while drinking a beer with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer at Trak Houz Bar & Grill. With the election fast approaching, Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, held rallies in the key battleground state over the weekend.
“So my thing is, we need to move ground among men,” Harris told Whitmer. Once the vice president realized there were mics around, she ended her private conversation with Whitmer.
“Oh, we have microphones in here just listening to everything,” Harris said. “I didn’t realize that.”
“You’ll bleep my f-words, I hope,” Whitmer said. Harris added and laughed, “We just told all the family secrets, s***.”
Harris has been struggling to gain ground among male voters in the election, as a USA Today/Suffolk University poll found Trump leading among men, with 53 percent of support to Harris’ 37 percent.
Newsweek contacted the Harris campaign for comment by email outside normal office hours.
According to a poll by CBS News/YouGov, 44 percent of men perceive Harris to be a strong leader.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump trailing Harris by 2 percentage points among Hispanic male voters. While Democrats have traditionally led this group, Trump appears to be narrowing the gap.
Harris’ support has plummeted to 49 percent among Black men under 50, according to a poll released by the NAACP.
The vice president’s hot mic moment in the key swing state suggests she is concerned about winning over male voters in a tight race only seven days away.
It isn’t the first time a major force in American politics has been caught on an unmuted mic.
President Joe Biden
The incumbent president was caught on a hot mic after delivering a fiery State of the Union address earlier this year.
He was heard discussing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“I told him, Bibi—and don’t repeat this—but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting,” Biden said.
In September, another hot mic picked up Biden making remarks about China’s behavior during the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue summit.
Speaking with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in his home state of Delaware, Biden said: “China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region. It is true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits.”
“He’s also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest,” Biden said of the country’s president.
President Donald Trump
Weeks before the 2016 election, The Washington Post released an Access Hollywood tape that caught Trump discussing grabbing women “by the pussy” to TV presenter Billy Bush.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them,” Trump said on a hot mic. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Trump dismissed the remarks as locker room talk at the time.
President Barack Obama
In 2012, President Barack Obama made candid remarks to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as he asked for some flexibility on the contentious European missile defense issue.
At the time, Obama urged Medvedev to tell incoming President Vladimir Putin to give him time: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved—but it’s important for him to give me space.”
Medvedev replied: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you.”
Obama continued: “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”
Medvedev responded: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
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