Stacey Abrams: Kamala Harris Faces Scrutiny Due To Race, Gender
Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris is subjected to scrutiny because she is not White. Speaking during a recent interview on MSNBC’s “Inside,” she expressed the belief that the criticisms directed at Harris are rooted in both misogyny and racism.
Stacey Abrams says 'misogyny and racism' to blame for 'scrutiny' of Vice President Harrishttps://t.co/amJi0YQCpK
How about unqualified and ill equipped?!— OneSmallVoice 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@SmilingOutrage) November 6, 2023
Anchor Jen Psaki, during the interview, asked Abrams about the intense scrutiny surrounding the vice president. Abrams responded emphatically, stating that she believes Harris would not be under the same level of criticism if she were a white man.
“We will always question the person behind the person. But we cannot ignore the misogyny and racism that remain very prevalent in our politics. And for those behaviors that don’t rise to misogyny or racism, there’s also just a difference,” she stated, adding, “Our expectations are set for the traditional white male vice president.”
Psaki acknowledged that this has been the historical norm and Abrams agreed, saying, “It’s what it’s always been. We are not always great with new. But more importantly, I know that if you filter through the critiques, if you think about how she has been castigated, it is inextricably linked to race and gender. I applaud the poise with which she has responded.”
https://youtu.be/EiD8Di_CYds?si=brxsV10NDf2yww9a
Abrams’ assertions come amid Harris’ tanking reputation, as a June NBC News poll reported that she received the lowest net-negative rating of modern vice presidents in the history of their polling. Only 32% of registered voters had a positive view of her, while 49% held a negative view, including 39% with a “very negative view,” resulting in a net -17 rating, the lowest for any vice president in the poll’s history.
Some have attributed these low approval ratings to Harris being a “Black woman” and a “history maker.” Ashley Allison, one of her former staffers and a current CNN political commentator, suggested in August that this criticism stems from a lack of understanding of the vice president’s role and the tendency to target the “history maker” as the scapegoat.
Elsewhere during Sunday’s interview, Abrams was asked about her own political ambitions and she revealed that she is currently focused on other important work. “Politics is a part of what I am, and part of what I do. My approach is to do the work. Politics is one of the tools that I can use to do so,” she stated, revealing that she has no plans to run for office again.
“The work that I do, supporting small businesses and defending diversity, equity, and inclusion. The work I’m doing with rewiring America on electrifying everything. All of those are facets to get to what I believe in most importantly, which is that we should have the right to succeed, the freedom to be successful, the freedom to dream of what can be, and politics is one of the tools that I can use. But for right now, I’m focusing on some other things,” she said further.
