Trump recycles vile attacks against Harris because that’s all he has

From the moment Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, Donald Trump has been engaged in an effort to “other” her, or portray her as somehow not a real American. That campaign consists of Trump attacking Harris’ racial identity, demeaning her intelligence, and calling her a “communist.” As The Washington Post reports, Trump has also questioned where Harris “came from,” then tied this question to false claims that her Jamaican father is a “Marxist.” 

All of this is a reminder that Trump entered Republican politics by lying about former President Barack Obama’s citizenship. Then he rode into office in 2016 on a wave of racism and xenophobia. Then he spent his time in office telling American congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from. 

Trump won by ditching the GOP’s usual racist dog whistle for a bullhorn, but Republicans are now dutifully lining up to express their concern about Trump being a “showman.” They've taken to Fox News’ airwaves to plead for Trump to “stick to the issues” and to stop whining about crowd sizes and belittling Harris’ intellect. 

But here’s the thing about all of these Republicans: They’re lying. None of them expect—or even want—Trump to do anything but pick up that bullhorn and yell louder.