On the second night of the second Democratic primary debates, Gillibrand embraces her responsibility to take on issues of institutional racism, arguing, “I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explain to them what white privilege actually is, that when their son is walking down a street with a bag of M&Ms in his pocket, wearing a hoodie, his whiteness is what protects him from not being shot.” She adds, “I don’t believe that it’s the responsibility of Cory and Kamala to be the only voice that takes on these issues of institutional racism. I think as a white woman of privilege who is a U.S. senator running for president of the United States, it is also my responsibility to lift up those voices that aren’t being listened to.”