Donald Trump Strategically Tries to ‘Devalue’ Vice President Harris by Commenting on Her Appearance, Says Susan Rice – Essence

Former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail, repeating his attacks on Vice President Harris’ race, ethnicity and gender. Biden’s former National Policy Council director Susan Rice spoke with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell to analyze his tactics.

“This is all part of his strategy to demean and objectify the vice president, just as he does with women of all stripes. Donald Trump’s inability to respect women, and it’s not just in his DNA and the way he’s treated women at every turn in his life, personally and professionally, but it’s at the heart of his political approach, Project 2025,” he said. Rice.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance really want to take us back to a time when rights and freedoms were denied not only to women but to the vast majority of Americans in this country.” Rice “He goes about it by belittling, demeaning and objectifying his opponents, and in this case, using gendered and sexualized terminology, sometimes using racial terminology, but it’s all to distract from the reality that he’s running a campaign that’s really retro, dangerous and self-serving.”

“This is a tactic to divide and discredit the fact that 10% of the American population, or 33 million Americans, Andrea, are mixed race, people of more than one racial background,” she added. Rice.

It’s almost a case of déjà vu, considering Trump’s strategy against Harris is disturbingly harking back to his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton. New York Times reported during election coverage: “Mr. Trump’s advisers, meanwhile, say the attack on the woman’s card is intended to undermine Mrs. Clinton by sowing doubts about her qualifications — not only among men but also among white women who have supported the Republican nominee in every election since 1996.”

Then, Republican Polling expert Kellyanne Conway commented, “By taking on gender head on, Trump refuses to give women a voice and so-called women’s issues to Hillary simply because she is a woman.”

“He’s ‘swiftboating’ her, casting a shadow over what should be her strength,” he continued. Conwaywho later became a protracted-time assistant to former President Trump.

How effective is that this tactic? Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) has examined the political consequences of objectifying female candidates. One 2009 study found that when former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s appearance was focused on, “Palin’s appearance decreased perceptions of her competence and humanity. Furthermore, those exposed to appearance-focused coverage of Palin were less likely to express an intention to vote for McCain/Palin than those who were not.” Another study found that those that viewed such comments concerning the candidates were less likely to be perceived as credible and fit for political office.

According to CAWPthis strategy “is an evergreen tactic that has been used to delegitimize and belittle them. But objectification does more than just delegitimize. In fact, objectification is a form of dehumanization.”