Republicans’ racist attacks on Kamala Harris have backfired

House Republican leadership is warning its members that they must stop making racist comments about presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Political coverage:

House Republican leaders told lawmakers to focus criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris on her record without mentioning her race and gender, after some Republicans made vitriolic remarks attacking Vice President Kamala Harris based on her identity. .

In a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, House Republican campaign arm Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and others made a series of comments about Harris’ campaign against members and claimed she According to two people in the room, this was a “DEI” choice.

…

The rhetoric about Harris’ candidacy has privately angered some Republicans, who believe it shifts the focus back to the party rather than Democratic missteps.

Here’s an example of what House Republicans said about Harris:

when asked @KamalaHarris candidacy, @HagemanforWY incoming call @Vice President Go to DEI Hiring.

“Intellectually, that’s really the bottom line… I think she’s a DEI employee. I think that’s what we’re seeing, I just don’t think they have anyone else. pic.twitter.com/Dj9y4pKHrj

—Josh Rultenberg (@JoshRultNews) July 23, 2024

Republicans in the Trump era have shown they have no problem with bigoted or racist rhetoric when they think they can gain politically from it.

If House Republican leadership is telling its members to stop their racist attacks, it’s because they’ve seen evidence that they’re counterproductive.

House Republican leadership is clearly more interested in abusing its power and trying to impeach Democratic candidates than being openly racist.

This is not to say that House Republican leadership wants to be less racist. They just hope their racism can be masked by official House actions.

Racist attacks will not work. They did not fight Obama, and they will not fight Harris. The country is changing and becoming more diverse, so the path Trump is setting his party on is a path to failure.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press corps and a congressional reporter for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a BA in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, particularly social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association

Jason Easley’s latest posts (see all)