Not content that he had an opportunity to drone at America for roughly 27 hours on Thursday evening, Donald Trump went up to Londonderry, New Hampshire to arrange another super-spreader event on Friday night. In addition to explaining to the crowd how he does not talk about his ass, Trump went on to claim that Kamala Harris is “not competent” to be vice president.
Kamala Harris served seven years as a district attorney, seven more as state attorney general, and has been one of the leading figures in the Senate since her election in 2017. As the first woman of color nominated by either party, enthusiasm for her presence on the Democratic ticket hasn’t just been palpable, it’s been visible in the polls. Harris has higher favorability ratings among registered voters than Donald Trump and her nomination both helped unify the Democratic Party, as well as being met by approval by a majority of voters. There’s absolutely no doubt that Kamala Harris is qualified for vice-president—and for president.
But, as CNN reports, Trump sees a candidate of a decidedly different shade. "You know, I want to see the first woman president also,” claimed Trump, “but I don't want to see a woman president get into that position the way she'd do it—and she's not competent. She's not competent. They're all saying, 'We want Ivanka.' I don't blame you." What are Ivana junior’s qualifications other than her name? Well … she is blond.
Like the 1,500 people who besmirched the White House lawn on Thursday evening, the 500 who greeted him in New Hampshire were almost uniformly maskless. As The Washington Post reports, that includes a man wearing a shirt saying “Covid-19 just tested positive for fraud.” When organizers attempted to hand out masks and made an announcement encouraging people to wear then, they were booed.
If that crowd sounds small … that’s because it was. And it wasn’t the only one. More people actually watched Kamala Harris speak at the DNC than tuned in for Trump’s acceptance speech. Considering how sensitive Trump is to every twitch of the TV ratings, that had to burn. But then, Trump doesn’t need encouragement to disparage Black people. It wasn’t just President Barack Obama’s birth certificate that Trump demanded to see, he also went after Obama’s college records, claiming that the editor of the Harvard Law Review was a "terrible student."
Trump’s previous attacks on Kamala Harris have included claims that she was soft on crime when it was committed by Blacks or immigrants—a claim that has drawn direct comparison to the execrable and overtly racist Willie Horton episode during George H. W. Bush’s 1988 campaign. But then, Trump doesn’t need Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes to do his racism; he’s perfectly happy to perform that role in person.
Kamala Harris has regularly demonstrated her competence in every role she’s held. She’s demonstrated it in California, and she’s demonstrated it in the Senate. Not only is she the sponsor or co-sponsor on some of most important bills of the last session, her incisive questioning of witnesses like vastly unqualified Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh showcased her insightful reasoning and ability to cut through bulls#it and get to the truth.
How racist was Trump’s statement? Racist enough that he recognized it as such. And how boring was his acceptance speech on Thursday? Boring enough that he knew not even his rally crowd would sit still for it. "If I did last night's speech here, right now you would have all been walking out," said Trump. "And if I did tonight's speech there, I would have been criticized by being slightly radical."
What makes Ivanka competent to be president? Well … she knows how to sit on a parrot. And she’s been practicing that soulless, adoring gaze for decades.
