Stacey Abrams insists critics of Kamala are ‘linked to race and gender’

A hypothetical wondering if Vice President Kamala Harris “was a white man” teed up former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams (D) to demonize the critics.

“…it is inextricably linked to race and gender.”

The perpetual candidate and noted election denier joined MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki” Sunday for a sit down interview with the eponymous host. Discussions on former President Donald Trump’s legal fight in Georgia and the 2024 election eventually turned to the poor polling of Harris prompting a one-dimensional response from Abrams.

“I wanted to ask you about the vice president because she has been under a huge amount of scrutiny through her entire time in office,” said Psaki pivoting off the issue of third party candidates. “I think there’s a lot of reasons for this. But I want to ask you, as a prominent woman of color who’s run for office, do you think she would be receiving these same critiques if she was a white man?”

“No,” came the initial blunt response from the twice-failed gubernatorial candidate leading the host to coax further, “No, not at all?”

“We will always question the person behind the person, but we cannot ignore that misogyny and racism remain very prevalent in our politics,” asserted Abrams before suggesting underlying bigotry could exist even where there would be no room for her argument. “And for those behaviors that don’t rise to either misogyny or racism, there’s also just the difference. Our expectations are set for the traditional white male vice president.”

Nodding along, Psaki agreed, “It’s what it’s always been,” before her guest echoed, “It’s what it’s always been.”

“We are not always great with new, but more importantly, I know if you filter through the critiques, if you think about how she is castigated there,” the politician insisted, “it is inextricably linked to race and gender. I applaud the poise with which she has responded.”

Of course, not conveyed in the discussion was the fact that in a recent poll that had Trump beating incumbent President Joe Biden in five of six battleground states in a potential general election matchup, the GOP frontrunner also trounced Harris across the board.

Furthermore, the vice president had been doused with cold water about her favorability, with her disapproval at +15.6 as of Nov. 1 according to FiveThirtyEight, during a recent “60 Minutes” interview when CBS News’ Bill Whitaker pointed out voters weren’t alone in their distaste of her performance.

“We were talking to some Democratic donors, and they have told us that should something befall President Biden, and he is not able to run, that there would be a free for all who would run as president. You are in the spot that would be natural for you to step up,” presented the journalist, “but we’re hearing from donors that they would not naturally fall into line. Why is that?”

In response, Harris offered, “Well, first of all, I’m not gonna engage in that hypothetical, ’cause Joe Biden is very much alive and running for reelection. So there we are-”

Abrams’s attempt to blame hate for measurable failings, like the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border of which the vice president was given charge, came as little surprise on social media as users called out the use of the “race card.”

Kevin Haggerty

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