Another day, another dusty attempt from a conservative to question Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record. This time, it was Rep. Tim Burchett, (R-Tenn.), who went on social media Monday to label Harris a “DEI vice president.”
Though the acronym stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion,” conservatives have weaponized it against people of color by implying they are handed opportunities they didn’t earn because of their race.
“The media propped up this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president,” Burchett stated on X. In addition, he also called the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “a DEI hire” in an interview with CNN Monday.
Burchett told the news network that when President Joe Biden was campaigning in 2020, he stated “he was going to hire a Black female for vice president.” Burchett then asked, “What about white females? What about any other group?”
He is overlooking the fact that diverse tickets have proven more successful for the Democratic party, but the Tennessee rep isn’t worried about preserving fairness — he cares about preserving whiteness. At this point, Harris’ achievements aren’t up for debate.
Yes, Harris is the first female and Black vice president. She was also elected district attorney of San Francisco, attorney general of California and U.S. senator prior to becoming vice president. Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, is literally only a first term senator. Why isn’t Burchett up in arms about that?
Last month in an interview with Newsmax this month, Burchett remarked: “When I hear [Harris] talk, I just scratch my head and think this is what DEI is really about. It clearly is. She checks all the boxes. She’ll say she’s of Indian descent one day, then she’ll say she’s of Black descent. It’s just box-checking.”
Burchett isn’t trying to hide his racism, but he needs to get a new script. Calling Harris a “DEI” isn’t just factually inaccurate, but it’s a desperate — and ineffective — way to discredit her.