A recent study by professors from Stanford University and Arizona State University revealed some harsh criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris from fourth-grade students.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper reported on the study, which asked children for their views on the 2024 presidential candidates, sparking a range of responses—many of which were surprisingly direct.
During the study, Arizona State professor Asheley Landrum asked a group of fourth-graders, “What’s the first word that pops into your head when you hear the name Kamala Harris?”
One boy from Texas promptly responded, “Liar.”
Another student, a Black girl, remarked that while she believed it would be significant to have the first Black woman president, her vote would still go to Donald Trump.
Yet another Texas girl expressed her doubts about a woman becoming president, explaining, “I just don’t think a woman would be right for our president.”
When Landrum pressed her further, the girl said she reasoned that “only boys have been president before and that they would be stronger.” When asked for a single word to describe Harris, the girl replied, “Selfish,” and explained that she believed “girls are a little dramatic sometimes.”
The study was led by Landrum, a psychologist with a PhD in psychological sciences who currently teaches at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alongside Stanford political scientist Shanto Iyengar.
On Thursday, CNN posted an article detailing the study, sparking interest in the children’s candid opinions.
Landrum donated $20 to Kamala Harris’ super PAC in July while conducting the study, which she disclosed in an email to The New York Post on Friday.
She explained that the report was meant to be an academic study but was not published in a scholarly journal because it was done in collaboration with CNN.
Both Landrum and CNN have declined to comment on whether she was compensated for her work on the project.
The professors interviewed children from New Jersey, Texas, and Arizona, finding that responses differed based on geographic location.
According to the study, kids in blue states such as New Jersey gave more extreme responses regarding Trump, while those in Republican-leaning states showed more measured opinions about Harris.
Children from Democrat-leaning areas were nine times more likely to express negative emotions toward Trump than children from Republican-leaning areas were toward Harris.
In a separate interview conducted by Landrum, a New Jersey girl described Trump as “pure evil” when asked about the former president.
However, in Texas, one young girl defended Trump, saying, “Donald Trump is giving his life and his heart” when asked about him in May, just two months before an assassination attempt against the former president.
Some of the children’s responses focused on Trump’s legal troubles.
One Texas boy, who had called Harris a “liar,” was asked whether it would be acceptable for someone who is a convicted felon to become president.
Without hesitation, he replied, “Yes.” Meanwhile, children in New Jersey described Trump as “brave” for surviving what they believed to be a gunshot at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Many of the responses revealed a surprising awareness of Trump’s status as a “convicted felon” following his legal battles, particularly about the hush money case in Manhattan.
Nearly one-third of the children focused on Trump’s legal challenges, with some expressing disbelief that he could still run for president despite his criminal charges.
While the study was not intended for academic publication, it has generated significant attention as it sheds light on the attitudes of younger generations towards high-profile political figures like Harris and Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
