After launching a historic campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has been the subject of vitriolic racist and sexist attacks from her opponents. If elected, Harris would continue to shatter the glass ceiling and become the first Black and South Asian woman to become President of The United States.
Since announcing her bid for president, Congressional Representatives Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Tim Burchett (R-TN), referred to Harris as a “DEI hire.” These public comments have fueled this narrative, causing one guest on Fox Business to reference “a vulgar TikTok meme, appearing to imply without evidence that Harris had somehow used sexual relationships with powerful men to advance her career,” NPR reports.
Ange-Marie Hancock is director of the Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute and the Kamala Harris Project’s curator. “There is very much this idea that they want to make sure she’s seen as not qualified.” Former President Trump’s Vice-Presidential running mate JD Vance even called Harris a “childless cat lady[y]” in addition to implying that she is “miserable.”
“Those kinds of things are really designed to appeal to those suburban women voters who are more traditional in their values about what kind of life women lead,” said Hancock.
Jesse Watters, a Fox News host, “said Harris secured Hillary Clinton’s endorsement, ‘obviously, because she’s a woman.’”
In addition, Trump has publicly called Harris “crazy,” “nuts” and “dumb as a rock.” According to Reuters, however, these “[o]nline attacks against Harris were ramping up even before Biden dropped out” of the race after reviewing posts on X.
These attacks are occurring despite pleas from GOP leadership to keep their criticisms of Harris focused on policy. After House Republicans held a closed-door meeting last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with reporters, stating “This election will be about policies and not personalities.”
“This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris,” Johnson continued, “and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever.”
Former Republican presidential candidate and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is in agreement with this strategy. It’s not helpful,” stated Haley, adding, “There’s so many issues we can talk about when it comes to Kamala Harris that it doesn’t matter what she looks like. It matters what she’s said, what she’s fought for, and the lack of results that she’s had because of it.”
Sarafina Chitika, a Harris spokesperson, revealed that she is not allowing these attacks to distract her from the work that needs to be done. “These attacks are backfiring and even Republicans know it,” said Chitika.
Any implication that Harris is unqualified to run almost seem inconceivable given that she has already reached great heights in politics—as Vice President, Harris is the highest-ranking woman in U.S. government.