In the annals of political history, few moments are as infamous as Michael Dukakis's ill-fated 1988 campaign stunt when he donned a helmet and hopped into a tank. The imagery of the Massachusetts governor awkwardly riding in military gear became emblematic of a major political misstep.
The tank stunt didn’t just look ridiculous—it highlighted how disconnected a candidate can appear when attempting to sell an image that doesn’t align with reality. Fast forward to today, and some observers are beginning to draw a parallel between Dukakis’s tank debacle and Vice President Kamala Harris's recent remarks about gun ownership. Could her so-called “Glock moment” be her campaign’s unraveling?
Shane Harris of RealClearPolitics speculated that Kamala Harris’s comments about owning a Glock could be her own Dukakis-style misstep, but perhaps even more damaging. The vice president, who has a long history of advocating for stricter gun control, stood on stage during a debate and boldly stated that both she and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are gun owners. This statement, she likely hoped, would appeal to a broader demographic. But instead, it opened the floodgates to questions about her authenticity.
Tim Walz went on a hunting trip today (to impress men) and was followed by cameras and reporters the entire day.
You don't do this unless your internal polling is horrific.pic.twitter.com/HuW2FV90NJ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 12, 2024
To the casual listener, this may have sounded like a nonchalant remark, but Harris’s words were anything but harmless. Harris has long championed policies that gun rights advocates view as hostile, including her support for bans on so-called “assault weapons,” praise for Australia's mass gun confiscation, and her backing of legal briefs that argue the Second Amendment protects collective rights over individual ones. This, coupled with her sudden claim to own a firearm, struck many as inauthentic at best and a blatant political maneuver at worst.
Skeptics, of course, pounced. There are several reasons to question the truth of Harris's claims. While it's easy to say that she owns a Glock, where’s the proof? The political world is full of scripted moments, but this one appears to be backfiring.
The comparison to Christine Lavin's infamous journalistic blunder in which she falsely claimed to have "flipped off" the safety of a Glock (which, for the uninitiated, does not have a manual safety) underscores the ease with which one can be caught in a lie about firearms. Lavin’s story fell apart the moment gun owners realized her error, and Harris's comment seems to be heading down a similar path.
For those not aware of the 1988 presidential campaign and unfamiliar with Dem Michael Dukakis and his infamous "tank moment," here is a short, edited clip with some of the imagery from his disastrous photo op. pic.twitter.com/kTZUIKCXHO
— Tom Glass (@tomgglass) October 14, 2024
Harris, however, didn’t just let the moment pass—she doubled down. Instead of clarifying or offering proof, she’s continued to assert her ownership. The problem is, the longer she sticks to this line, the more it invites scrutiny. No journalist has been shown the Glock. There’s no range day footage with the Second Gentleman. In short, the more Harris insists on the story, the less believable it becomes. And in the realm of politics, believability is everything.