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It didn't take long for Vice President Kamala Harris to be hit with a barrage of sexist and racist attacks after President Joe Biden endorsed her for the presidential run.
After ripping into Biden by calling him old, senile, and mentally incapable of running for reelection, the GOP is now attacking Harris for being ethnically Black and South Asian, and also for just being a woman.
Speaking to CNN on Monday, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said he was "100 percent" sure Harris was a mediocre "DEI hire."
And Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin said he thought the Democratic Party only backed Harris "because of her ethnic background."
Before boarding a plane to DC, Rep. Glenn Grothman told @KathrynMerckTV, "It is gonna be more difficult to beat somebody who is not Joe Biden."
— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) July 22, 2024
On VP Harris:
"Apparently, they feel, or a lot of Democrats feel, they have to stick with her because of her ethnic background." pic.twitter.com/XFII5eFjKC
Others, like conservative commentator and former Reuters managing editor Paul Ingrassia, are criticizing her identity as a child of immigrant parents.
Ingrassia said that because she's not a "natural-born citizen," she should not be allowed to run for the top ticket.
According to constitutional scholar @DrJohnEastman of the @ClaremontInst (an opinion I share alongside many other legal professionals), Kamala Harris is ineligible to serve as President under the 12th Amendment.
— Paul Ingrassia (@PaulIngrassia) July 21, 2024
Thus, Kamala must step aside for another candidate who is actually… pic.twitter.com/NpgtQxaCOG
Harris was born in Oakland, California, making her a natural-born citizen and eligible to run for the presidency.
The GOP is baselessly accusing Harris of sleeping her way to the top.
Far-right blogger and Trump ally Laura Loomer leveled groundless accusations at Harris, accusing her of being "an escort," among other unsubstantiated allegations. Loomer also accused Harris of having an illicit relationship with Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco.
Everything I said about @KamalaHarris is true.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 22, 2024
You might not like the way I say it, but everything I said is true.
Show me the lie. https://t.co/803lsgsdW1
Reuters fact-checked the photo of Harris and Brown in 2020, reporting that Brown had been separated from his wife for over a decade when Harris dated him in the mid-1990s.
Loomer also implied that Harris had an inappropriate relationship with TV host and actor Montel Williams, prompting Williams to defend Harris on X.
Similarly, right-wing commentator and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly also accused Harris of being an "unqualified political aspirant" and trading sexual favors to advance her career. Kelly did not provide evidence for her claim.
Disagree. She actually did sleep her way into and upwards in California politics and most women (and men) may learn that and see it for what it is: evidence of an unqualified political aspirant getting ahead based on smthg other than merit. It’s relevant, and fair game. https://t.co/qIrx0xGC6a
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) July 22, 2024
To be sure, race and gender-driven attacks on Harris are not new. For instance, in 2021, then-Senate candidate JD Vance branded her as being part of a group of "childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives."
JD Vance says women who haven’t given birth like Kamala Harris are “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives,” and have “no direct stake” in America. pic.twitter.com/3DJY3pQTGe
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 22, 2024
This was despite the fact that she is the stepmother of two children.
And Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded the "Pastors for Trump" movement, wrote on X on July 4: "Both Joe + the Ho gotta go!"
Both Joe + the Ho gotta go! https://t.co/HQMRnQ52Fy
— Jackson Lahmeyer (@JacksonLahmeyer) July 4, 2024
He also called Harris a "whore" and "harlot" while replying to comments on his post.
Political experts told BI they expected Trump and his party to launch these racist and personal attacks, and added this onslaught is likely to get more intense as the race progresses.
"America has a deep history of attacks being on the basis of race, so it is not unexpected," said Thomas Hollihan, a professor of communication at USC Annenberg.
But these attacks, he said, will have little effect on undecided voters and will only help galvanize the GOP's existing base.
Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor from Northeastern University, echoed this sentiment.
"As an African and Asian American woman, Vice President Harris is likely to face a barrage of subtle and overt racist and sexist attacks in this race, but many voters will reject these and be personally offended by them," he said.
"Americans expect better," Panagopoulos added.
Although Hillary Clinton also bore the brunt of sexist attacks as a female presidential candidate in 2016, the experts told BI that Harris is going to have it much worse.
"The attacks on Kamala Harris likely will be more vicious because she is not white, and there are just over 100 days before the election, " said Jonathan Aronson, a communication and international relations professor from USC Annenberg.
"Attacks on Hillary stretched over many years," he said.
Hollihan said as well that he thought the attacks on Harris would be more severe than they were for Clinton, because "they are animated by race and gender."
Representatives for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.