GOP Squirms Over Donald Trump’s ‘Abhorrent’ Attack On Kamala Harris’ Racial Identity

Republicans were on the defensive after GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity in front of a group of Black journalists, drawing condemnations on both sides of the aisle.

In interviews on Wednesday, Republican senators ducked, dodged, or downplayed Trump’s comments about the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said, “Of course,” Trump’s comments were defensible during an interview on CNN in which he spent the vast majority of time bringing up things the former president didn’t bring up himself in Chicago, such as Harris’ progressive policy positions she has shed since becoming the de facto Democratic nominee for president.

“He also said, either is fine, both is fine,” Cotton said of Trump. “He loves African Americans, he loves Indian Americans, he loves all Americans. The point is, we don’t know where she stands politically.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump’s comments are often “misconstrued” and he should be more careful about discussing race because they often lack nuance.

“I don’t think he’s doubting her Blackness,” Cramer said. “What he’s doing is he’s making fun of the fact that she chooses it when it’s convenient, and chooses another race when that’s convenient.”

Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and has always identified as a Black woman.

Other Republicans said that their party should stick to talking about Democrats’ record on the economy, border security and national security ― just about anything but race and gender.

“We focus on that we win. We shift focus away from it, we start losing,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of Harris’ policy positions.