5 most influential female politicians of 2020: Kamala Harris to Nikki Haley, the leaders who made an impact
The year 2020 hasn’t been exactly how we had thought it to be. The ongoing pandemic threw a set of challenges for everyone across the globe. While we rose to some of the challenges, there’s still a long way to go. Among other things, politics is one field that is always discussed and this year wasn’t any different. The US 2020 election is one of the most followed events of the year. With November 3 right around the corner, things are heating up even more. This year also saw many strong female voices emerge in US politics. So here are our top 5 female politicians of 2020.
Kamala Harris
On August 11, 2020, Kamala Harris was selected as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate. If they win, she’ll be the first woman and first woman of color to serve as vice president. She has openly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and has repeatedly urged people to listen to doctors and scientists. Harris has been a supporter of the right to abortion and has defended reproductive rights. During one speech, as reported by ABC News, she was clear that she does not approve of Trump’s SCOTUS nominee. She said, “Judge Barrett has a long record of opposing abortion and reproductive rights. There is no other issue that so disrespects and dishonors the work of Justice Ginsburg's life, than undoing the seminal decision in the court's history that made it clear -- a woman has a right to make decisions about her own body.”
Tulsi Gabbard
In 2002, she was elected to the Hawaii State Legislature. She was just 21 and became the youngest person ever elected in the state. According to her website, in 2004, Gabbard, while she was in Hawaii Army National Guard, volunteered to deploy with her fellow soldiers, becoming the first state official to voluntarily step down from public office to serve in a war zone. As reported earlier, Gabbard garnered a lot of attention on social media platforms following the 2019 Democratic primary debates. And to date, people remember the moment she accused Harris on camera of prosecution of marijuana crimes, hinting that the senator herself used it. Gabbard also criticized Harris for holding “innocent people” on death row.
Elizabeth Warren
Warren served as chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the 2008 financial crisis. She has been vocal in criticizing the big tech companies. She felt, as reported by ABC News, these companies have “too much power.” Warren in a statement said, “Today’s big tech companies have too much power—too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else.” She opted out of the presidential race in March. According to Variety, she told her staff members, “We didn’t reach our goal, but what we have done together – what you have done – has made a lasting difference. I may not be in the race for President in 2020, but this fight — our fight — is not over. And our place in this fight has not ended.”
Nikki Haley
After leaving her position as United States ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, Haley has been a prominent leader in the Republican party. At one point, there were speculations that the POTUS might replace Mike Pence with Haley, a great supporter of Trump, as his running mate. She had slammed the impeachment proceedings against Trump in the past saying it is a distraction from the real issues. Following her resignation, Trump had also praised her. A New York Post report states, Trump said, “She’s done a fantastic job, and we have done a fantastic job together. We have solved a lot of problems, and we’re in the process of solving a lot of problems. At the beginning, North Korea was a massive problem, and now we’re moving along. It’s moving along really nicely.”
Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi was sworn in as the first female speaker of the House in 2007 and again in 2019. NPR published an excerpt from her book ‘Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters’ in 2008. In that excerpt, it is mentioned, “As I accepted the gavel from Republican Leader John Boehner, I told my colleagues: This is an historic moment–for the Congress, and for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over two hundred years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights.” She also said, "But women weren't just waiting; they were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling. . . .”
The fact that POTUS and Pelosi aren’t on the same page on most matters is well known. In February 2020, after Trump’s State of the Union address, she was seen ripping up her copy of the speech. She was criticized for that, but she defended it by saying, “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths.”