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As Harris steps up to face Trump, far-right attacks follow
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
As Harris steps up to face Trump, far-right attacks follow
The likely Democratic nominee is already facing a wave of hate like the one that marked Barack Obama’s candidacy.
Vice President Harris steps off Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
By Hannah Allam and Clara Ence Morse
July 28, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
As President Biden’s reelection bid fizzled over the last month, the right-wing targeting of Vice President Harris picked up steam, starting with a return of old racist and sexist memes. … The weaker Biden appeared, the more intense the attacks became, with extremism monitors warning of a threatening undercurrent to rhetoric calling Harris a “demon” or a “DEI hire.”
Biden’s decision Sunday to exit the race and endorse the vice president turned that stream of hostility into a torrent. Within hours, far-right forums were awash in vitriol aimed at almost every aspect of Harris’s identity, mounting what analysts call a smear campaign led by the most intolerant — and menacing — elements of Donald Trump’s MAGA universe. … For example, former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, speaking to Britain’s right-wing GB News, described Harris as “this disaster whose only qualification is having a vagina and the right skin color.” … The backlash is a glimpse of what Harris could face if she wins, say extremism monitors, who fear a far-right resurgence like the one that followed the election of Barack Obama, the country’s first Black president, only worse because of factors including social media and the nation’s deep polarization.
The pile-on also fits the pattern of studies showing that women candidates — and particularly women of color — experience online abuse and threats for seeking election at any level, from school board seats to the Oval Office. The intimidation campaigns elevate the risk of real-world attacks by the violent far right, analysts say, a concern that takes on urgency as thousands of Black and Brown women across the country pledge street-level organizing to get out the vote for Harris.
“She represents what it means to try to have a multiracial democracy, a feminist democracy — and that’s what they don’t want,” said Alexandria Onuoha, a researcher at Suffolk University in Boston who studies extremist targeting of Black women and girls. “It’s not just VP anymore. This is the big leagues now. It’s going to be even more aggressive.”
{snip}
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By Hannah Allam
Hannah Allam covers extremism and domestic terrorism as part of the National Security team.
By Clara Ence Morse
Clara Ence Morse is a political data reporter at The Washington Post. She joined The Post as the Investigative Reporting Workshop intern with the Data team, and previously served as the editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator. She lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter https://x.com/ccemorse
As Harris steps up to face Trump, far-right attacks follow
The likely Democratic nominee is already facing a wave of hate like the one that marked Barack Obama’s candidacy.
Vice President Harris steps off Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
By Hannah Allam and Clara Ence Morse
July 28, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
As President Biden’s reelection bid fizzled over the last month, the right-wing targeting of Vice President Harris picked up steam, starting with a return of old racist and sexist memes. … The weaker Biden appeared, the more intense the attacks became, with extremism monitors warning of a threatening undercurrent to rhetoric calling Harris a “demon” or a “DEI hire.”
Biden’s decision Sunday to exit the race and endorse the vice president turned that stream of hostility into a torrent. Within hours, far-right forums were awash in vitriol aimed at almost every aspect of Harris’s identity, mounting what analysts call a smear campaign led by the most intolerant — and menacing — elements of Donald Trump’s MAGA universe. … For example, former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, speaking to Britain’s right-wing GB News, described Harris as “this disaster whose only qualification is having a vagina and the right skin color.” … The backlash is a glimpse of what Harris could face if she wins, say extremism monitors, who fear a far-right resurgence like the one that followed the election of Barack Obama, the country’s first Black president, only worse because of factors including social media and the nation’s deep polarization.
The pile-on also fits the pattern of studies showing that women candidates — and particularly women of color — experience online abuse and threats for seeking election at any level, from school board seats to the Oval Office. The intimidation campaigns elevate the risk of real-world attacks by the violent far right, analysts say, a concern that takes on urgency as thousands of Black and Brown women across the country pledge street-level organizing to get out the vote for Harris.
“She represents what it means to try to have a multiracial democracy, a feminist democracy — and that’s what they don’t want,” said Alexandria Onuoha, a researcher at Suffolk University in Boston who studies extremist targeting of Black women and girls. “It’s not just VP anymore. This is the big leagues now. It’s going to be even more aggressive.”
{snip}
Share
{can’t on a phone}
By Hannah Allam
Hannah Allam covers extremism and domestic terrorism as part of the National Security team.
By Clara Ence Morse
Clara Ence Morse is a political data reporter at The Washington Post. She joined The Post as the Investigative Reporting Workshop intern with the Data team, and previously served as the editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator. She lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter https://x.com/ccemorse
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
No emails.
Because they aren't smart enough to pull their heads out of their asses.
Harris is way more intelligent and knows just how to swat those flies. Remember how Obama could catch or swat a fly? She's got that kind of juju too.
