Donald Trump keeps calling Kamala Harris stupid

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Donald Trump keeps calling Kamala Harris stupid

For many voters, as well as experts, Trump’s sneering dismissiveness of Harris’s intellect reeks of racism and sexism.

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ormer president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris participated in their only debate on Sept. 10. Trump's digs at Harris's intelligence began to intensify as soon as President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

By Ashley Parker
October 21, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

Speaking to a crowd in Erie, Pa., on the last Saturday in September, former president Donald Trump lambasted his Democratic opponent. ... “Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired — sad — but Lyin’ Kamala Harris, honestly, I believe she was born that way,” he said, mispronouncing the Democratic presidential nominee’s name as the crowd chuckled. “There’s something wrong with Kamala and I just don’t know what it is, but there is definitely something missing.” ... Ten minutes later, he offered an even blunter assessment, warning that the nation’s immigration system was being mismanaged by “stupid people like Kamala.” ... “She’s a stupid person,” he said, before adding again, as if for emphasis: “Stupid person.”

Since Harris emerged on the top of the Democratic ticket in July, Trump has repeatedly attacked her intelligence — deriding her as a “dumb,” “mentally unfit,” “slow,” “stupid,” and an “extremely low IQ person,” among other similar pejoratives. ... To some of the former president’s fiercest supporters, he is simply stating a truth and articulating aloud their view of her. But for many voters, as well as experts, Trump’s sneering dismissiveness of Harris’s intellect reeks of racism and sexism. ... If elected, Harris — who is Black and Indian American — would make history as the first female president, as well as the first female president of color, and Trump’s repeated jabs at her intelligence go beyond mere insults. ... The attacks are particularly striking given Harris’s deeply accomplished résumé: former San Francisco district attorney, former California attorney general, former U.S. senator and now vice president.

“This lands differently when you do this to women of color, because you’re saying, ‘How dare you get out of the box I put you in,’” said A’shanti Gholar, president of Emerge, an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office. ... “There is a history in the United States about the perception of Black people, about the perception of Black women, that we’re not smart enough, that we’re not good enough, that you only get to where you are because of affirmative action,” she said. “So when you attack people of color, when you attack the vice president, you’re really showing that you have these biases.”

The Trump campaign rejected the notion that Trump’s questioning of Harris’s intelligence is in any way racist or sexist. ... “Only dumb and low IQ individuals would be offended by that, expressing faux outrage because they need every excuse to explain away their insecure, miserable, and pathetic existence,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “Being unintelligent has nothing to do with race or gender. It has everything to do with Kamala Harris being wholly unqualified to be President because of all the hurt and misery she has brought to America.”

{snip}

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By Ashley Parker
Ashley Parker is Senior National Political Correspondent for The Washington Post. She has been part of three Post teams that won Pulitzer Prizes — two for National Reporting (in 2018 and 2024) and one for Public Service (in 2022). She joined The Post in 2017, after 11 years at the New York Times. She is also an on-air contributor to NBC News/MSNBC.follow on X @ashleyrparker