MAGA Racism & Media Failures

The attacks on Kamala Harris's race revive a tired racist strategy, and we need to call it out

The right wing attacks on Kamala Harris’s racial identity are not just malicious and racist, they exhibit a right wing hypocrisy that runs far deeper than any single election or candidate. And if we hope to break this cycle of racism and hypocrisy we must first understand what we’re dealing with, then loudly call it out, and finally hold legacy media accountable for continuing to enable it. Let’s Address This.

Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

The Racism

Donald Trump spent his 34 minutes on stage at the National Association of Black Journalists reminding everyone just how racist he is. From the opening question, when journalist Rachel Scott read him his receipts of his extensive racist remarks over the years, Trump became defensive, angry, and lashed out—ultimately playing victim. He exemplified a text-book case of white fragility. That short 90 second exchange is worth the watch, as it set the tone for the rest of the debacle of an interview:

While Trump was scheduled to sit down for an hour long interview, he left after just 34 minutes. His handlers likely recognized he was only digging himself into a deeper hole and tried to cut their losses. But the damage was done. By the time it was over, Trump had accused media of being “fake news,” a revival of the Hitler accusations of Lügenpresse or “lying press,” claimed he had done wonders for the Black community (he hasn’t), and claimed Kamala Harris only just now started to identify as Black (she’s always identified as Black). Trump spewed this lie:

I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? I’ve known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage. I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went – she became a Black person. I think somebody should look into that, too.

Not only is all of the above a lie, the fact that Trump wants Kamala Harris investigated for also being Indian is authoritarian level racism. Adding to this absurd Trump stance is that Trump’s own VP candidate JD Vance has mixed Indian children with his wife Usha Vance. I’ve documented the grotesque racism she’s facing for being Indian American. In short, what we’re dealing with is a nakedly racist attempt to fear monger to a racist MAGA base that if you don’t vote, a Black or Indian person who (allegedly) keeps changing their identity will be in charge.

And thus the hypocrisy.

The Hypocrisy

Reflecting over MAGA’s obsession with identity politics, I noticed a pattern and tweeted the following, now viral tweet:

And it isn’t only Republicans of color who keep changing their name for white approval. Who can forget that Donald Trump was originally Donald Drumpf? And JD Vance was initially James Donald Bowman and then later James David Hamel, before arriving at JD Vance? Even former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was originally Ronna Romney. Look, if people want to change their names—more power to them. My problem is the MAGA hypocrisy on full display to question the identities of people like Barack Obama and Kamala Harris—who proudly run on their names and identities—while themselves changing their own names and identities to appease a racist base.

Consider former Louisiana Republican Governor and GOP Presidential Candidate Bobby (Piyush) Jindal’s favorite portrait versus how he actually looks. I swear the below image is not AI.

Bobby Jindal Piyush Jindal Photograph: Robin May/Getty Images

MAGA Republicans of color are literally whitewashing themselves for approval from a racist base that is openly hostile to them—yet have the audacity to question the identity of VP Kamala Harris. And making this situation even worse is the utter failure of legacy media to call out this racism and hold its actors accountable. Consider the headlines after Trump’s racist rant at the NABJ.

The Legacy Media Failure

The Washington Post’s tagline is “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” and I cannot figure out if this is a call to action to expose injustice, or a personal goal they’re trying to achieve? Because in response to Donald Trump’s grotesque racism targeting Kamala Harris, this was the Washington Post’s headline:

The Boston Globe followed suit with their own flavor of racism:

And always one to enable racist messaging, the New York Times published this dud:

In whitewashing Trump’s racism and repeating his lies without qualification, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and the New York Times all proudly demonstrate how legacy media is failing to meet the moment. To recap, Trump engaged in grotesque racism, lies, and white supremacy — and the Globe, the Post, and the Times framed his racism as some legitimate point of consideration, and worse, placed the burden of that racism on Harris, as if she is now answerable for Trump’s racism. This is how democracy dies, in the darkness of misinformation and burden shifting.

Credit where due, I appreciated this most accurate headline by Mother Jones, because it well captures the absurdity of Trump’s claims without excusing him one bit:

In Conclusion

In moments like these I reflect on the sage words of the late, great, Toni Morrison who said:

The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.

Perhaps it is no surprise that MAGA Republicans have banned Toni Morrison’s book, Beloved, from bookshelves. You’ll notice that I did not spend any time in this article providing receipts of all the times Kamala Harris has identified as Black. That’s the distraction MAGAs want. Don’t fall for it. Harris is Black and Indian. Period. Nothing more needs to be said to validate her racial identity.

Indeed, the lesson for us is to not let MAGA racism distract us from the real policies at stake. We need to elect a President who will expand healthcare and reproductive healthcare access, not ban it. One who will rein in an out of control MAGA SCOTUS, not enable it. One who will demand meaningful actions to stop the genocide in Gaza, not fund it. One who will fight for economic and climate justice, not exacerbate wealth inequality and climate catastrophe. One who will pass consequential immigration reform, not undermine it. And the list goes on and on. We can hold Kamala Harris accountable to the above—but Donald Trump will actively work to further devastate each of them.

MAGAs are playing identity politics with Kamala Harris to distract us from fighting for economic, social, and climate justice, so they can enact Project 2025 unhindered. With less than 100 days until Election Day, we must instead remain that much more focused to demand justice and protect our democracy.