(The hill) — Republican pollster Whit Ayres said in a modern interview that it would be a mistake for former President Trump to join some of his fellow Republicans in calling Vice President Harris the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) candidate.
Ayres told the Washington Post He is waiting for Trump’s reaction to the question of whether Harris’s presidential candidacy – which she launched after President Biden dropped out last Sunday – exacerbates or highlights the former president’s weaknesses.
“If he follows the example of some irresponsible members of Congress and starts attacking their race and gender and talking about a DEI candidate, it will backfire,” Ayres said.
Ayres said Trump should focus on Harris’ policy positions.
“On the other hand, if he focuses on policy differences and calls her a liberal from San Francisco who wants to ban fracking and offshore drilling and abolish private health insurance, then I think Kamala’s candidacy will help him,” he said.
In the days since Harris was announced as the party’s next nominee, several Republican lawmakers have claimed that Harris was a DEI candidate. Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, would be the first woman and the first woman of color to become the country’s president.
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.) called Harris “DEI rent.” He later reiterated his claim, although he admitted that he regretted calling her thatRep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) said Harris was the “Bottom of the barrel”, also calls it a DEI appointment. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said Democrats feel they have to stay with Harris after Biden dropped out “because of her ethnic background.”
Some Republicans are warning their GOP colleagues that End of the DEI speech.
Ayres told the Washington Post he believes Harris is facing a lot of pressure from the Biden administration and that “it all comes down to how she can handle the pressures of a very, very intense presidential campaign.”
In his first rally Since Biden announced his exit, Trump spoke to his supporters in North Carolina on Wednesday and sharply criticized Harris, attacking her on immigration and inflation, attempting to label her a “left-wing nutcase” and mispronouncing her name several times.
