Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) criticized the Democratic Party’s decision to welcome Harris as its nominee, saying she is a candidate who values diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve seen in the history of our country.” Hageman says: “I mean, intellectually speaking, it’s really the lowest bar,” Gray DC Josh Raltenburg said in a video clip posted online.
Hageman criticized Harris’ stance on immigration and her “failure to respond” to the influx of migrants across the country’s southern border.
“I think it’s just a failure, from top to bottom,” Hageman said. “I think she was the DEI hire and that’s what we’re seeing right now. I don’t think there’s anybody else qualified. I think they’re really confused.”
In an emailed statement to The Hill, Hageman pointed to a 2019 rally where President Biden said he was considering a person of color and a woman as his running mate.
“Joe Biden himself has said that the vice president should be chosen based on race and gender. Kamala Harris is more liberal than Bernie Sanders. Harris would ban fracking and offshore drilling, take away consumer choice to eat meat and make illegal immigration a civil crime – all of which are out of line with the views of Wyoming residents and the country as a whole,” Hageman’s statement said.
Harris’ unusual timing in entering the 2024 presidential election after Biden announced on Sunday that he was dropping out of the race has drawn a lot of attention. The vice president, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, would be the country’s first woman and first woman of color to serve as president.
Hageman is among several Republicans who have argued that Harris’ gender and race make her ineligible.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) has similarly described Harris as a “DEI hire,” a claim he doubled down on Wednesday while saying he regretted calling her that. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said Democrats felt compelled to support Harris because Biden withdrew “because of her ethnic background.”
The attacks have drawn criticism from several politicians and members of the media, with Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) saying earlier this week that the attacks are yet another “racist dog whistle” being used against Harris as she runs for president. Some Republicans have warned their colleagues to back off discussions about DEI as the party seeks to retain its support base of people of color.
