HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ actor says Kamala Harris lost over race, gender

“Lanterns” actor J. Alphonse Nicholson is blaming former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 election loss on voters’ unwillingness to trust a Black woman, arguing the new HBO series shows what could have been.

Mr. Nicholson, who plays a younger version of John Stewart Sr. in flashback sequences on the DC Studios drama, made the remarks during a Sunday interview with “DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast” co-host Fantastic Frankey, tying the show’s storyline to the 2024 race.

“Could you imagine where we would be right now if Kamala got up in there, dog? Could you imagine how it would’ve been? It’d be a lot different. So we’re experiencing the consequences of not trusting a black woman,” Mr. Nicholson said.

The actor argued the series demonstrates the kind of superhero the country could have had “if you trust a black woman,” drawing a parallel between Ms. Harris’ failed bid and Bernadette Stewart’s role in shaping her son John into Earth’s next Green Lantern.

Post-election surveys pointed to economic anxiety and immigration as major factors in President Trump’s victory. He swept all seven battleground states and became the first Republican presidential nominee in two decades to win the popular vote. AP VoteCast found voters focused on the economy broke heavily for Mr. Trump, while concerns about illegal immigration also helped drive his winning coalition.

Democrats have also been grappling with an internal identity crisis well beyond the 2024 loss. A recent Economist/YouGov survey found 26% of Americans now believe most Democrats are socialists, versus 42% who disagree and 32% who are unsure — a split that cuts sharply along party lines, with a majority of Republicans agreeing and most Democrats rejecting the label.