In just the 24 hours after Kamala Harris jumped in the presidential race, right-wing activists dug in on debunked “side chick” allegations; House Republican Tim Burchett called Harris a “DEI vice president” on CNN; and old footage reemerged of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance listing Harris among “childless cat ladies” unfamiliar with the stakes of running the country.
Early Republican efforts to tamp down on this kind of racist and sexist messaging appear to be going nowhere — and it’s concerning some in the party that the GOP is only stepping in its own way.
“The 4 to 6% in the middle, we’ve got to realize they are the ones we’re all competing for. They watch that, and you better make sense on the merits of the case, not that stuff,” Republican Sen. Mike Braun told NOTUS, arguing that the personal attacks against Harris will hurt the GOP’s election chances.