Republicans have unleashed a slew of racist remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming that she is a “DEI” candidate, an explicitly racist dog whistle meant to suggest that her position is a result of her being a Black South-Asian woman, not because she’s actually qualified.
Fox News Business host Larry Kudlow went on a heated buzzword-salad rant Tuesday afternoon in which he couldn’t even keep his criticism of Harris straight. The only thing he knew was that Harris was “DEI,” but, ultimately, he didn’t seem sure about what that meant.
“And of course, her whole history is DEI. Diversity, uh exclusion, and equity. I mean, inclusion and equity. I mean, what does that tell you? It’s totally woke, and it’s anti-cops,” Kudlow said.
“So among all the other things, putting the economics aside: more DEI, defund the police, de– eliminate ICE, never even talked to the chiefs of the border patrol. I mean, really? How’s she gonna stand up to that?” A better question might be, how’s she gonna understand the question?
Larry Kudlow on Kamala Harris: "Her whole history is DEI." (That's code for she's a black woman.) pic.twitter.com/mFHjJPVcjv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2024
The racist smears against Harris on conservative news coverage began even before Biden had endorsed her as the Democratic nominee. Earlier this month, Sebastian Gorka, Donald Trump’s former deputy assistant, called her a DEI hire, as well as a particularly outdated slur during an appearance on Newsmax.
“She’s a DEI hire, right? She’s a woman! She’s colored. Therefore she’s gotta be good,” Gorka said sarcastically.
Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman also credited Harris’s gender and race for her nomination for the vice presidency, amidst a slew of attacks on Tuesday.
“Well, I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country,” said Hageman, claiming that Harris was “intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.”
Hageman went on to criticize Harris’s handling of the border, before explaining what her actual problem with Harris seems to be.
“I think she was a DEI hire, and I think that that’s what we’re seeing. And I just don’t think that they have anybody else,” said Hageman.
When asked about @KamalaHarris candidacy, @HagemanforWY calls @VP a "DEI hire."
— Josh Rultenberg (@JoshRultNews) July 23, 2024
"Intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel...I think she was a DEI hire. And I think that that's what we're seeing, and I just don't think that they have anybody else." pic.twitter.com/Dj9y4pKHrj
On Monday, Representative Tim Burchett called Harris a “DEI hire” with an “abysmal” record, lamenting Biden choosing Harris in 2020. “What about white females? What about any other group? It just, when you go that route, you take mediocrity,” Burchett said.
That’s turning out to be Tennessee Republican’s favorite new insult. That same day, Burchett called former U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle a “DEI horror story,” suggesting that she had been improperly hired due to her gender.
Former United States Representative Adam Kinzingzer slammed Burchett for his racist, sexist remarks—and everyone else pushing the DEI claim—on CNN Tuesday.
DEI “is a disgusting dog whistle; it’s not even a dog whistle anymore, it’s an outright whistle,” Kinzinger said.
“Basically what they’re saying is only white men are deserving of certain positions, and I thought we got past that about 60 years ago in this country.”
“This is a disgusting dog whistle - it’s not even a dog whistle anymore, it’s an outright whistle… Basically what they’re saying is only white men are deserving of certain positions."@AdamKinzinger reacts to right-wing trend of calling minority and women leaders "DEI hires" pic.twitter.com/4HZKPTpXrJ
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) July 23, 2024
