“Seinfeld” and “Veep” actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus sat down with the nation’s eight female Democratic governors on Wednesday for a panel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The nearly hourlong conversation, moderated by the "New Adventures of Old Christine" star, touched on a range of topics, such as abortion, combating disinformation and personal stories about the governors, while featuring a handful of references to “Veep,” which has seen a spike in streaming viewership since President Joe Biden stepped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the HBO Emmy Award-winning comedy, Louis-Dreyfeld plays a vice president who becomes the first female U.S. commander in chief in a storyline that has drawn comparisons to the current political situation should Harris win in November.
One of those moments came when Louis-Dreyfus posed a question to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul about the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which turned the decision of whether and how much to restrict abortion back to the states and led to restrictive laws and bans on the practice across the country.
“My character in ‘Veep’ once said 'if men got pregnant, you could get an abortion at an ATM,' which I stand by as a human being, I think that’s true,” Louis-Dreyfus said.
Hochul went on to tell the story of going to a vigil in a park in Brooklyn on the night the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe came down and holding “sobbing women.”
“It broke my heart to know that something that my mother’s generation fought for, I certainly took for granted,” she said, adding she is going to “fight like hell” to get abortion access back for her granddaughter.
The groups also spoke about female leadership in government – as some of the governors are the first women to head up their state. Louis-Dreyfus asked Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey about how her career as a basketball player shaped her leadership before adding that her son played the sport at Northwestern and quipping “Do you think that my son will one day be the governor of Massachusetts?”
“I mean, I don’t know if we are going to let a man serve,” Healey said back to laughs.
At one point, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a reference to the kidnapping plot against her a few years ago when speaking about how she stays optimistic.
“That’s the question I get a lot is how do you stay optimistic when everything can feel so heavy at times, from climate events to the pandemic to a plot to kidnap and kill you to 28 recall attempts in my first term,” she said. “I mean, it’s been a lot and yet there is inspiration everywhere.”
She went on to talk about the things that keep her focused and happy.
“Some days it is just my dog and my bed and tequila,” Whitmer said. “But most days it is because I didn’t hide under my covers and I went out and engaged with people.”
The discussion included a few jabs at the GOP, with Louis-Dreyfus opening her comments with a dig at Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, who has faced criticism for his comments about “childless cat ladies.”
“We are very honored to have eight highly intelligent, highly capable women leaders for the 21st century with us, or what JD Vance might call a coven of semi-menstruating witches,” she said.
Louis-Dreyfus also lauded the Democratic ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying the campaign’s optimism is “contagious.”
Along with Healey, Whitmer, Hochul, the other female governors who are Democrats and took part on Wednesday include Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Maine Gov. Janet Mills.