A recent Scientific American article that claimed Vice President Kamala Harris would bring a "scientific perspective" to the presidency because her mother was a cancer researcher sparked mockery on social media. Critics ridiculed the claim, pointing to Harris's previous statements and actions that they deemed to be scientifically dubious.
A recent Scientific American article that claimed Vice President Kamala Harris would bring a "scientific perspective" to the presidency because her mother was a cancer researcher sparked mockery on social media.
Kamala Harris's "Lifelong Familiarity with Science" Mocked After Scientific American Article
The article, titled "What a Kamala Harris Presidency Would Mean for Science," argued that Harris's upbringing in a scientific household would give her a unique understanding of the field. However, critics quickly pointed out that Harris's own statements and actions on scientific issues have often been questionable.
One of the most well-known examples is a viral video from 2021 in which Harris spoke to child actors about the cosmos. In the video, Harris made several factually incorrect statements, such as claiming that astronauts could see the craters on the moon with their naked eyes.
Kamala Harris's "Lifelong Familiarity with Science" Mocked After Scientific American Article
Critics also pointed to Harris's support for COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates, which they argued were based on unscientific evidence. They also criticized her opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and her support for environmental regulations that they claimed were based on outdated science.
In addition to her own statements and actions, critics also questioned the relevance of Harris's mother's career to her own understanding of science. They argued that her mother's expertise in cancer research did not necessarily translate into a deep understanding of other scientific fields.
Kamala Harris's "Lifelong Familiarity with Science" Mocked After Scientific American Article
"This is awesome news. My Dad was in the Air Force, so I guess I'm a veteran now," conservative commentator Charles Cooke posted on Friday.
"Scientific American" was recently mocked online for saying that Vice President Harris would bring science experience to the presidency because her mom was a doctor. The outlet published the piece earlier in the week, arguing that Harris will bring some experience with science to the White House because "her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who Harris cites as a major influence, was a leading breast-cancer researcher who died of cancer."
As evidence that Harris is already highly invested in the sciences, Scientific American detailed how the politician promoted diversity initiatives in the scientific fields throughout her career.
"As senator, Harris co-sponsored efforts to improve the diversity of the science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) workforce. She introduced legislation to aid students from underrepresented populations to obtain jobs and work experience in STEM fields."
The piece, by Max Kozlov, Mariana Lenharo, Jeff Tollefson & nature magazine, added, "As vice-president, Harris has overseen the National Space Council, which is charged with advising the president on US space policy and strategy. Under Harris's leadership, the body has focused on international cooperation, for example on the Artemis mission, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon."
One of the most well-known contributions of Harris to the field of astronomy and space exploration was a widely-mocked video of her talking to children about the cosmos in 2021.
In the viral video, which was meant to encourage kids' enthusiasm for space, Harris gushed to child actors about the topic, saying things like, "You're gonna literally see the craters on the moon with your own eyes!" and "I just love the idea of exploring the unknown."
At the time, critics blasted her for coming off as "fake" and "cringe." Donald Trump Jr. commented on the clip, posting, "Her commitment to cringe is truly impressive."
Scientific American's piece on Harris' science background inspired similar mockery on X this week.
Gov. Ron DeSatnis, R-Fla., comms person Christina Pushaw mocked the piece, writing, "'your parents' education and careers are passed along to you in the bloodstream' - The Science."
Indie journalist Christina Buttons lamented, "I'm embarrassed that I ever used to subscribe to this magazine."
Author Jennifer Sey slammed the outlet, posting, "I'm the daughter of a pediatrician. No one seemed to care about that when I argued that children were being harmed by Covid restrictions. Nor should they have. My dad's expertise had nothing to do with my own common sense views on what would happen to kids from severe isolation."
GOP comms person Matt Whitlock countered the outlet's piece with Harris' "cringe" space video, stating, "We already saw Kamala Harris's ‘lifelong familiarity with science’ on full display when they hired child actors to talk to her about space."
Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg asked, "Hey @sciam, what do you make of Trump’s claims that he understands science because his uncle was a physicist at MIT?"
Ophthalmologist & PhD research scientist Dr. David Hemmati commented, "A perplexing puff piece by Scientific American claiming that because her mom researched cancer, Kamala Harris would ‘bring a lifelong familiarity with science to the presidency.’ This high produced NASA video with paid child actors (& many others) would say otherwise."
He added, "This magazine loses a lot of credibility for making this claim. Let’s stick to facts, not politics."
