In an interview that was published on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Republican Rep. Byron Donalds for suggesting last week that Black families were “together” during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.
In response to former president Trump’s statement that he will select a running partner at the Republican convention next month, Politico states that the vice president contacted the news organization via phone. According to Politico, she rarely commented on specific candidates, although she did criticize Donalds, who is thought to be a possible running mate for Trump, with some venom.
To Harris, “it’s sad yet another example of somebody out of Florida trying to erase or rewrite our true history”—a reference to the state’s incursions into Black history curriculums under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis—was necessary. I traveled to Florida in July of last year to expose their efforts to rewrite our past with falsehoods. From that state, it seems like there’s an endless supply of that.
At a Philadelphia rally alongside fellow Black Republican and former president Trump supporter Rep. Wesley Hunt, Donalds made remarks that reflect the campaign’s efforts to reach out to non-White voters.
President Donald J. Trump reportedly told an audience last week that “you see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together” (Philadelphia Inquirer). He went on to say that during Jim Crow, a larger number of Black people were conservative voters and not simply ideologically conservative (because Black people have historically leant toward conservatism).
The VP compared and contrasted the abortion policies of the Biden administration with those of the candidates being nominated by the Republican party in an interview with Politico.
Each and every one of those people has either backed a Trump-backed abortion ban in their home state or has demanded a nationwide prohibition… Indeed, a large number of senators cast ballots opposing the right to abortion this week. That’s the extent to which they have progressed,” stated Harris, who spearheaded the White House’s propaganda effort following the 2022 Supreme Court decision to repeal the federal right to abortion.
During her time as vice president, Harris hasn’t shied away from getting her hands dirty with culture war topics. For example, she went to Florida last year to criticize Republicans there following revisions to Black history curriculum guidelines by the state board of education.
According to a document uploaded to the state’s Department of Education website, middle schoolers are required to learn about “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.” During the July visit, Harris brought attention to these criteria.
“The past is known to us. Additionally, Harris emphasized the need of not allowing politicians who seek to sow discord in our nation to succeed. “These discussions are being started by them without any reason. Doing so is superfluous when discussing whether slaves gained anything from their enslavement. Is this for real? Is it our job to argue about that?
On numerous contentious occasions, the vice president has conveyed the administration’s stance. The Biden campaign has been pointing the finger at Trump for the nationwide adoption of strict abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court’s decision, and last month she was sent to Jacksonville, Florida, mere hours before the state’s contentious ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect.
Her April trip to Tucson came shortly after the state’s highest court upheld a prohibition on abortion that has been in place since the Civil War, with the exception of cases involving rape or incest.