Barbie Classily Handles Trump Jr’s Tweet Criticizing New Election-Inspired Dolls
Images via a katz / Shutterstock.com and Barbie
Mattel’s new election-themed Barbie collection, The Campaign Team, clearly doesn’t have Donald Trump Jr’s vote. No matter, the company is handling his opinion with grace like a true, tactful politician would.
The toymaker selected political leadership as the Barbie Career of the Year for 2020, attributing its inspiration from the potential for more electoral spots to be filled by females and women of color.
“With less than a third of elected leaders in the US being women, and Black women being even less represented in these positions, we designed the Barbie Campaign Team with a diverse set of dolls to show all girls they can raise their voices,” explained Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls at Mattel, in a press statement.
The set features a diverse woman-led campaign team of various body shapes, heights, and skin tones representing a campaign fundraiser, campaign manager, candidate, and voter. It was created in collaboration with She Should Run, a nonprofit advocating for women to run for office.
Trump Jr made his skepticism known about the Barbie dolls, especially the one depicting a voter. “‘Voter’ Barbie must be a Democrat because she’s already wearing an ‘I Voted’ sticker and yet she’s got another ballot in her hand,” he voiced out on Twitter, referencing his father President Donald Trump’s claims about mail-in balloting being a potential culprit for voter fraud.
Mattel wouldn’t let a baseless comment like that fly. “Barbie is not, and has never been, affiliated with a political party,” a spokesperson for Mattel addressed in a response obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
“This doll set highlights a range of leadership roles to pique their interest in shaping the future and raise their voices—from the podium to the polls,” the representative reaffirmed, adding that it could serve as “a tool to allow families to have conversations around important events and cultural moments through play.”
“Voter” Barbie must be a Democrat because she’s already wearing an “I Voted” sticker and yet she’s got another ballot in her hand. 🤔 https://t.co/kmOR09fUS6
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 29, 2020
Barbie has teamed up with @SheShouldRun to introduce girls – especially girls of color – to public leadership roles, and embolden them to lead.
— Barbie (@Barbie) July 30, 2020
By taking these simple actions, we can continue to build political ambition in the next generation: https://t.co/7PLmAfbLrC#Barbie2020 pic.twitter.com/xjV3yvT4Wg
[via Los Angeles Times, images via various sources]
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