Julia Louis-Dreyfus Opens Democratic Women Governors Panel With a Swipe at J.D. Vance
Who better than to bring together the country’s eight Democratic governors than Julia Louis-Dreyfus? The actress famously starred on Veep as a fictional female politician and on that series, she hilariously never advocated for women. Famously recirculated Veep scenes of late have reminded fans of the HBO comedy how she eviscerated her political aides for beginning speeches with, “As a woman …” or for suggesting that she run for president on an all-female ticket. (“The American people work hard for a living, OK? They don’t need that kind of bullshit,” she quipped.)
But in real life, the Emmy-winning actress, producer and activist is quite the opposite. In town for the Democratic National Convention, the avid Kamala Harris supporter hosted a sit-down conversation with the country’s eight Democratic women governors.
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Unlike her character, Selina Meyer, Louis-Dreyfus’ goal for the chat on Wednesday, the third day of the 2024 DNC, was to spotlight the governors who have made history by succeeding as women in executive roles and shattering marble ceilings along the way.
But, she still brought some humor.
After welcoming her guests onstage by going down the line and giving high fives, Louis-Dreyfus quickly took aim at Harris’ opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance.
Calling out the eight women on her stage, she took a swipe at Vance’s resurfaced, headline-making comments about women without children being “childless cat ladies.” The group, Louis-Dreyfus said, was a gathering that Vance might call “a coven of semi-menstruating witches.”
She then added to the crowd’s laughter, “We’re going to have fun here.”
Joining the Seinfeld star were Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
Louis-Dreyfus, who appeared on Stephen Colbert’s DNC opening night Late Show lineup on Monday, said she’s been smiling for a month. Ever since Harris was elevated to the top of the Democratic ticket for the 2024 presidential race, “my face hurts,” she noted.
“Was anyone else weeping for two hours last night watching the Second Gentleman [Doug Emhoff] and the Obamas speak?” she asked about the second night of the DNC’s primetime speakers. “We’re laughing, we’re crying — I’m fucking exhausted, to be honest with you. But, we’re filled with hope and joy. And all of you women on this stage are evidence that Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ Sometimes we forget that when Trump is trying to bend it back the other way.”
During the chat, Louis-Dreyfus asked the group lighter questions — such as testing them on their state flower, sharing stories about inner-office practical jokes (New Mexico Gov. Grisham told a story about removing all of the furniture out of a congressional member’s office, laying sod and placing it back on the grass) and briefly referencing Harris’ Brat summer — as well as heavier topics that are currently top of mind for voters.
Reminding the women that, on Veep, her character once joked, “If men got pregnant, you could get an abortion at an ATM,” she asked Hochul about her experience dealing with the overturning of the Dobbs decision and Roe v. Wade.
“I’m going to fight like hell to get it back for my granddaughter,” said Hochul of what she described as a moment of pain, but also one of action. “Yes, you can have an abortion in the state of New York, but there are sisters across this nation who are going to need our help.”
So she says she started expanding clinics to make her state a safe harbor by passing protections for doctors so they couldn’t be prosecuted by other states. “We passed laws, we jumped in. I visited Planned Parenthood clinics right off the bat. But right now, as a result of that decision, one-third of women in child-bearing age are living under an abortion ban in this country.”
In November, Hobbs said her state has the chance to protect abortion rights in Arizona. “Women who get pregnant don’t have access to the care that they need,” she said. “We’re surrounded by pro-abortion states and we are working to make sure that people can get the care they need.”
Kelly added, “They should never have poked the bear. Because what happened was women, men, people all over Kansas showed up to a primary … we had record turnout and 60 percent of Kansans validated a women’s right to privacy and reproductive right. And I think we set the stage then, for other states to do what they had to do … and I think it’s carrying on. There’s no lack of interest now. It really has awoken people, particularly our young people.”
Since 2018, the DGA has invested more than $80 million in states and campaigns to elect and re-elect this group, also launching the Women Governors Fund, dedicated to electing Democratic women governors.
Watch the women discuss the above, share their advice for Harris (“Let Kamala be Kamala” and “We have not won; we have to fight for every single vote”) and more in the chat, below.
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