Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called out the “totally stupid” attacks by Republicans on Vice President Kamala Harris and warned they would backfire.
In an interview on Tuesday, McCarthy cautioned fellow Republicans about any racist attacks against Harris as she barrels into being named the Democratic presidential nominee.
McCarthy told NBC News’ Garrett Haake that it is a “mistake” for Republicans to focus on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” playing any part in Harris being named VP in the 2020 election.
The relevant part of the video begins at 5:33 mark:
(Video Credit: NBC News)
President Joe Biden endorsed Harris as the presumptive nominee after he announced Sunday that he was ending his re-election bid. A former U.S. senator from California who had also served as the state’s attorney general, Harris ran against Biden in 2020 but ended her dismal campaign with little support. She was later tapped by Biden as his running mate after he had declared he would be choosing a woman as his VP.
Republicans have focused on, among other things, this aspect of Harris’ background to question her qualifications for running the country as president.
Gov. Wes Moore tagged a racist for calling POTUS a ‘Black Job’ https://t.co/nBMzCJi1va via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) July 23, 2024
“One hundred percent, she was a DEI hire,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday, setting off Democrat meltdowns.
But McCarthy believes this line of attack is not effective and will come back to bite Republicans.
“A lot of people already think that attack line is racist,” Haake said on Tuesday’s “Meet the Press Now.”
“Are you confident that your party and Donald Trump can stay on the other side of the line and not delve into racially charged or racist attacks on a black female candidate?” he asked McCarthy.
“Two attacks I’ve heard Republicans give that are totally stupid and dumb to do is the DEI attack, ok? The other attack that I would not do is saying that the president has to resign. That would be an advantage for Kamala,” the former congressman replied.
“Air Force One is very powerful when it lands somewhere. And you know what? Something will happen between now and the election. A hurricane or something else. And she’ll be able to present herself as a leader. Or maybe there’s some foreign policy. That is a mistake for any leader to go out and say that on the Republican side,” he added.
“This DEI, that seems like a petty– look, I disagree with DEI, but she is the vice president of the United States. She is the former U.S. senator. These congressmen that are saying it, they’re wrong in their own instincts,” McCarthy contended.
He did express his doubts about Harris being able to sustain any momentum for her new campaign, pointing out her previous runs for office and her dismal polling numbers.
Keep this in mind during the Kamala Harris “honeymoon” phase – a lot of public polls are designed to shape opinion, not reflect it. https://t.co/rFwqgEjhlP
— Ford O’Connell (@FordOConnell) July 24, 2024
“I think for the Democrats, this is a positive that Biden’s not running, the bottom was about to fall out in the polling…but I still see her as an underdog in her ability to win,” McCarthy said, adding that Harris “owns” all of the failed Biden administration policies.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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