Staff Reports
Donald Trump’s recent round of questioning at the National Association of Black Journalists convention served as a perfect illustration of why he remains as entertaining as he is controversial. During the event, someone dared to ask the former president if he considered Vice President Kamala Harris to be a “DEI hire,” eliciting the kind of response only Trump could conjure. Rather than directly addressing the absurdity of the question, he took aim at Harris’s shifting racial identity, noting her previous pride in her Indian roots before her recent pandering to African American voters. Some Republicans weren’t quite ready to embrace this fiery retort, but they shouldn’t have been surprised; it’s classic Trump.
Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for the Trump campaign, didn’t mince words when discussing Harris’s role as the least popular Vice President in history. Instead of getting sidetracked by discussions of race or gender, she emphasized that voters are more concerned about Harris’s catastrophic policies. From failing at her role as the Border Czar to echoing Joe Biden’s problematic agenda, Harris offers little more than a weak, liberal agenda that most Americans seem ready to reject. It’s a wonder she still stands on her feet, let alone defends her political legacy.
How Trump can reshape his messaging on DEI after NABJ interview goes off the rails https://t.co/kDfmYoh3I2 via @dcexaminer
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) August 2, 2024
In what might have been an unexpected twist, Tariq Nasheed, a longtime member of the NABJ, suggested that Trump should steer clear of DEI buzzwords. The irony here is palpable, as Nasheed believes that the term has become a code for vilifying Black individuals. Yet there’s a significant distinction between engaging in the confusing dialogue of DEI advocates and asking legitimate questions about Harris’s authenticity. Many within the Black community are asking themselves why Harris, who lacks Foundational Black American lineage, often engages in “performative Blackness” during election seasons. Perhaps they’re right to question her intentions.
Black commentators have urged Trump to ignore the bait-and-switch tactics that Democrats employ, suggesting he should focus on policy rather than race. Armstrong Williams, a conservative radio host, pointed out the relentless challenges that inflation poses to all communities, particularly Black Americans, insisting that the focus should be on vital issues like inflation, fentanyl use, and immigration—things that matter far more than any DEI label. Those issues reveal Harris’s inadequacy and the failures of her party rather than merely dissecting her racial identity in a political chess game.
Stacy Washington and Deroy Murdock echoed this sentiment, underscoring that while discussions about identity may have their place, they distract from the substantial issues at stake. For America, the pressing concerns are security at the southern border, rising interest rates, and controlling inflation—areas where Trump had previously delivered results. In a political landscape where distractions are plentiful and identity politics reigns, it may just be time for the former president to focus less on what color someone identifies with and more on what they’ve done (or failed to do) for the American people. The voters are tracking the issues, and that’s where any political contender should keep their eyes firmly fixed.
