Is Donald Trump’s scandalous portrayal of Kamala Harris working?

This will damage his campaign (and the US), but it seems like the only way Trump knows how to run. Racism and sexism are very powerful forces in American politics and have often worked to great effect. Aware of this, Trump and his allies have trotted out their greatest hits of tropes that amplify both.

The problem? Voters have heard it all before. Specifically in 2008 (Barack Obama) and 2016 (Hillary Clinton).

‘Make America Great Again’ Republicans mispronounce Harris’s first name on purpose. Been there, done that with Obama’s middle name, Hussein. Trump calls her a “nasty woman," just like he did with Clinton. (It’s women—strong and powerful ones —who are always the nasty ones). 

Also read: Donald Trump continues racial attacks on Kamala Harris: ‘Love of your Indian heritage…’

He and his supporters also seem obsessed with her prior dating life. And they label her an unqualified DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) candidate who plays the race card, though she has more experience in public office than Trump and his running mate Senator J.D. Vance combined.

Speaking of Vance, during a recent trip back to his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, he suggested that Harris doesn’t quite get how wonderful her country is.

“Not everything’s perfect. It’s never going to be. But you, if you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it," Vance said. “You should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris." 

This, of course, hearkens back to 2008 when Republicans suggested that former First Lady Michelle Obama wasn’t proud of her country. And it’s clear that Harris’s Jamaican and Indian ancestry is fuelling much of that rhetoric. It hasn’t taken long for Trump’s base to start their birtherism crusade, an old favourite of theirs, against the American-born Harris.

Vance also evidently has a problem with women who haven’t birthed children. A 2021 clip of Vance naming Harris among the “childless cat ladies" who shouldn’t run the country resurfaced, drawing the ire of many, including celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston. Harris has two step-children, but apparently, step-children don’t count.

And the strategy doesn’t stop at predictable sexist and racist tropes. In a memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, GOP senators were urged to play up “weird" aspects of Harris. Her laugh, love of Venn diagrams and electric school buses made the list, along with wanting to ban plastic straws and supposedly wanting to ban eating red meat.

Of course, Trump will also run against Harris based on her record. His campaign will continue calling her the “border czar" who failed to do her job. They will highlight her tack to the left during the 2020 Democratic primary, her prosecutorial record and negative aspects of the Biden administration’s record. 

Also read: ‘Is she Indian or..,’: Kamala Harris hits back at Trump after remarks on her racial identity

But even then, [the truth of his message will be doubtful]. He and his supporters already claim that she hates Jews, which would be news to her Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff.

In sum, Trump will argue over the next 100 days that Harris, the nation’s sitting vice president, is a “radical crazy person" and a “radical left lunatic," as he said at a rally in North Carolina.

“We’re not ready for a Marxist President, and Lyin’ Kamala Harris is a RADICAL LEFT MARXIST, AND WORSE!" Trump posted on his social media platform last week.

Even as Republicans try to focus on Harris’s record, Trump knows that presidential elections are mostly about emotions. So he has (again) resorted to fear and anger. But his broken-record rhetoric actually helps Harris make the central point of her campaign, which is this: Trump represents the past—grievances and division. Harris represents the future—hope and unity.

Harris has chosen Beyoncé’s song Freedom for her campaign. It’s a rousing anthem, and in her first video ad, Harris says: “We choose freedom. The freedom not just to get by, but to get ahead. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to make decisions about your own body."

There’s a great line in the song that sums up Harris’ approach to Trump’s whirlwind: “Tell the storm, I’m new."

Also read: Kamala Harris has best chance to beat Donald Trump but...: Morning Consult survey

Indeed, this is a different moment. And an African-American and South Asian woman could be the perfect candidate to finally grant the country freedom from Trump. America needs freedom from chaos agents and open peddlers of old and divisive lies. ©bloomberg