Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) on Tuesday lambasted GOP claims that Vice President Harris is in her role because she's a "DEI hire," saying that is a cover-up for a racial slur and among "racist dog whistles" being used against her.
"Whenever you hear DEI, I want you to think about the N-word. I want you to think about racial slurs. That’s what they actually mean," Frost said during a CNN interview Tuesday.
CNN anchor Jim Acosta then asked Frost if Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) — who called Harris a "DEI hire" a day earlier, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion — was being racist when he made that remark.
"I have a good relationship with the congressman. I think sometimes, though, he does use rhetoric that is racist. And whether people know it’s racist or not, I’m here to tell them that is racist. And I hope they won’t use that rhetoric anymore," Frost responded.
Burchett on Monday weighed in on Biden's withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Harris, writing on X, "The incompetency level is at an all-time high in Washington. The media propped up this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president."
Harris quickly received widespread support from scores of Democrats and secured enough delegate endorsements for the Democratic presidential nomination just one day after her presidential campaign officially launched.
"They want to call her [Harris] a DEI president, a DEI candidate. She has more experience than [former President] Trump and JD Vance, combined. Times a million, right?" Frost added. "She won at the state level. She was the attorney general. She was Vice President of the United States. She was a senator representing one of the largest states in the entire country. And so these are just racist dog whistles."
In an earlier interview with CNN on Monday, Burchett took issue with Biden's vice presidential selection process and its result. He argued Trump would now perform better with Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“Biden said he’s gonna hire a Black female for vice president,” Burchett said. “What about white females? What about any other group?” When you go down that route, you take mediocrity and that’s what they have right now as a vice president.”
Burchett was then asked directly if he believed Harris was in her job because of DEI, to which he said, "100 percent she was a DEI hire."
When asked about Frost's comments, a spokesperson for Burchett said the congressman is "using President Biden's own words."
The spokesperson pointed to a comment from Biden in May, when he said, "The values of diversity, equity and inclusion are the core strength of America. That’s why I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history to tap into the full talents of our country.”
The Tennessee Republican first made the DEI argument before Biden dropped out, repeatedly alleging Harris was selected as Biden's running mate because of her racial and gender identity.
