Kamala Harris faces racist “DEI” attacks in 2024 presidential campaign

Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism from some Republicans for her racist remarks about President Joe Biden, now that she is considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin told CBS-58 in Wisconsin that he believes “a lot of Democrats feel like they have to stick with her because of her race.”

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee accused Harris of being a “DEI hire” in a CNN interview on Monday and claimed that Biden had said he wanted to nominate a black woman as vice president: “If you go down that path, you accept mediocrity.”

DEI – the acronym stands for diversity, equity and inclusion – refers, according to industry experts, to initiatives and programs designed to address discrimination against historically marginalized groups in schools, businesses or government agencies.

In a 2020 debate, Biden stated that he would “pick a woman for vice president,” without mentioning a specific race. In a later interview with ABC News in August of that year, Biden added that he “felt no pressure to pick a black woman.”

“The government should look like the people, like the country,” Biden said in the interview. “51 percent of the population of this country is women. As the old saying goes, ‘Women hold up half the sky,’ and to be successful, you have to be on board with that.”

In another interview with MSNBC in 2020, when asked who his potential running mate might be, Biden said, “I’m not obligated to name any (of the potential candidates) other than the people I’ve named, and among them are four black women.”

DEI is increasingly being used as a basis for criticizing or questioning the qualifications of women, people of color, people from the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups in leadership positions.

These initiatives are the target of conservative legislation across the country because lawmakers say they promote racial segregation and unfair advantages for marginalized groups. Proponents of DEI initiatives say these programs aim to address long-standing forms of inequality, such as wage inequality, lack of accessibility in the workplace, hiring discrimination and more.

Harris, who is currently vice president, served as a U.S. senator for four years, attorney general of California for six years, district attorney of San Francisco for about seven years, and earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

In an interview with NBC News, former Democratic Party spokesman Kevin McCarthy called the DEI attacks on Harris “stupid and foolish.”

“I don’t agree with DEI, but she is the vice president of the United States,” McCarthy said. “The members of Congress who say that are wrong in their own instincts.”

Since entering the race, Harris has received support from Democratic lawmakers, advocacy groups and others across the country.

Her campaign has raised $100 million since entering the presidential race on Sunday, according to her campaign data. About 58,000 people have also signed up to volunteer for the vice president’s campaign, a number the campaign said is more than 100 times the average daily sign-up rate.