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Harris, Democrats Still Call Trump, Vance ‘Weirdos’: Here’s Why

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Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are highlighting a brand new line of criticism of Republicans — calling Donald Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, “weird.”

Democrats have been quick to make use of the label in interviews and online, especially within the context of Vance’s comments on abortion and his earlier suggestion that political leaders who wouldn’t have biological children “don’t really have a direct stake” within the country.

The “weird” message clearly gave Democrats a narrative advantage they rarely had when President Joe Biden was still in search of reelection. The Trump campaign, which so often shapes political conversations with the previous president’s statements, spent days attempting to flip the script, highlighting things about Democrats that it says are weird.

“I don’t know who came up with that idea, but I give credit to them,” said David Karpf, a professor of strategic communications at George Washington University.

Karpf said that calling Republicans’ comments “weird” is the type of succinct take that resonates quickly with Harris supporters. Furthermore, Karpf noted, “it frustrates opponents, which leads them to further amplify it with unbalanced responses.”

“Trump-Vance has not been able to find an effective response so far,” Karpf said.

Harris and her allies have used this label steadily

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who’s on Harris’ shortlist for vice chairman, called Trump and Vance “just plain weird” in an interview with MSNBC last week, a comment the Democratic Governors Association — of which Walz is chairman — amplified in a post on X. Walz repeated that characterization on CNN Sunday, referencing Trump’s repeated mentions of fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the film “The Silence of the Lambs” in campaign speeches.

In response to Trump’s appearance on Fox News on Thursday, the Harris campaign — in a press release titled “Statement on 78-Year-Old Felon’s Appearance on Fox News” — included “Trump Is Old and Kind of Weird?” in a listing of bullet points.

A day later, multiple Harris campaign press releases described her opponents in similar terms, simply stating that “J.D. Vance is weird,” partially due to his stance on abortion, and a Harris campaign spokesperson stated that Vance “has spent all week in the headlines because of his out-of-touch, weird ideas.”

Two Harris allies, Senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, posted a video on X on Friday calling Vance’s earlier comments about limiting the political power of childless Americans a “super weird idea.”

And then, at her first fundraiser since becoming the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, Harris used that characterization herself, calling attention to a few of Trump’s “wild lies about my record and what he and his running mate the vice president are saying is just weird.”

“I mean, this is the box you put it in, right?” she added.

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Many of the Democrats’ comments appear to harken back to a 2021 interview with Vance during which he lambasted some outstanding Democrats who wouldn’t have biological children — including Harris — calling them “childless cat people” who don’t have any “direct stake” in America.

But Harris’ own characterization of Trump as “weird” may go even further. In his 2021 book, political reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere wrote that Harris reportedly met along with her aides in 2018 to organize for her own presidential campaign.

As staff tried to organize her for the way she would react if Trump loomed over her during a debate, as he did with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, Harris reportedly joked, “I would turn around and say, ‘Why are you acting so weird? What’s wrong with you?’”

The Trump campaign tried to show the tables

On Sunday, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung released a recording of Walz calling Trump and Vance “weird” while campaigning for Harris and saying the presumptive Democratic nominee and her supporters had crossed a line by “trying to make everyone believe the shooting was staged,” referring to the attempted bombing at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.

Overall, some Trump allies are attempting to steer the conversation back to Harris and what they call her failed policy ideas.

Donald Trump Jr., the previous president’s eldest son, turned to X on Monday to ask, “You know what’s really weird? Soft-on-crime politicians like Kamala are letting illegal immigrants out of prison so they can brutally attack Americans.”

On Saturday, Vance reposted an X video shared by Trump Jr. during which Harris talks about “climate anxiety, which is fear of the future and not knowing whether it even makes sense to think about having children.”

“It’s almost like these people don’t want young people to have families or something,” Vance wrote. “Really weird stuff.”

Democrats Hijack Republican Attack Lines to Support Harris

Republicans have long shared clips of Harris laughing and a few of her jokes or stories to attempt to paint the vice chairman as a weird person — particularly an anecdote she told last 12 months about her mother scolding her: “Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

The “coconut tree” story itself became a Democratic joke in the times since Harris took over the campaign. Many of her supporters adopted coconut emojis on their online accounts.

Matt Sienkiewicz, a professor of social communications at Boston College, said calling Republicans “weird” could possibly be a solution to adapt Republicans’ current tactics.

University at Buffalo political communication professor Jacob Neiheisel compared the “bizarre” message to Arizona Sen. John McCain’s 2008 try and portray Barack Obama as a celeb with no accomplishments.

“I think at a functional level this may be part of a coordinated effort to mitigate some of the long-standing efforts by the right to portray Harris in a similar way,” Neiheisel said.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Politics and Current

Kamala Harris Recognized for Her Spotlight on Race and Reparations During NABJ-WHYY Interview

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Kamala Harris, theGriio.com

In a wide-ranging interview with the National Association of Black Journalists and public radio station WHYY, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke more broadly about race than at some other time since becoming a presidential candidate and then the Democratic Party nominee.

The historic presidential figure (Harris is the primary Black woman and Indian-American to be nominated by a significant party) made her first appearance as vice chairman on the difficulty of reparations and outlined the systemic harms inflicted on Black communities by U.S. history, including African-American slavery and racial oppression.

“We need to tell the truth in a way that leads to solutions,” said Harris, who co-sponsored HR40 when she was a U.S. senator.

While members of the Congressional Black Caucus and advocates have called on President Joe Biden to take executive motion within the absence of three many years of inaction on Capitol Hill, the presidential candidate has signaled she believes it should come through Congress. She cited Congress’s ability to carry hearings and “raise awareness” in regards to the history of slavery and racial discrimination.

However, the vice chairman added: “I am not downplaying the significance of any executive action.”

Referring to her economic plan if she wins the White House in November, Harris said her ideas for creating an “opportunity economy” would aim to “explicitly address the obstacles that exist historically and currently” in areas similar to student loan debt, health care debt, biased home valuations and black maternal mortality.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (left) is interviewed by National Association of Black Journalists members Gerren Keith Gaynor (far right), Eugene Daniels (second from right) and Tonya Mosley (third from right) on the WHYY studios in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“I am pleased that Vice President Harris has recognized the important role truth plays in our pursuit of racial healing and transformation,” said Lee. “My legislation to establish a Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation would usher in a moment of truth-telling by educating and informing the public about the historical context of the racial inequities we witness every day.”

But Hunter said that despite Harris’ clear preference for congressional motion on the commission’s creation, such a commission through executive motion “could be a source of legislative policy.” He continued,

Political pundit and radio host Reeta Colbert admitted that Harris “hung around” during her CNN interview and presidential debate with Trump to discuss her racial identity.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Airlines forces 14-year-old girl off plane due to weight and balance issues, leaving her to fend for herself

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The mother of a teen who was banned from a plane in Canada due to a weight imbalance is outraged at how the incident has put her daughter’s safety in danger.

According to the CBC, 14-year-old Camryn Larkan boarded a Porter Airlines flight home from Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia, on August 30 after visiting family and friends. Once she was seated on the plane, a flight attendant approached her and told her she had to get off the plane.

14-year-old stuck at the airport
14-year-old forced to leave plane due to “weight and balance” issues. (Source: Pexels)

“I was a little disoriented… I thought I was going to go back to my seat. I thought they were just going to take my bags.” – Camryn he said CBC. “As soon as I got off the plane and saw the doors close, that’s when I started, you know, getting really concerned.”

Porter Airlines pulled Camryn from the flight due to a “weight and balance issue.” The airline said agents asked for volunteers, but when nobody got here forward, “passengers were selected based on ticket type.”

After Camryn and several other passengers were asked to leave the plane, a Porter Airlines agent arranged for Camryn to fly to Victoria the subsequent day. Camryn immediately called her father, who got here to pick her up on the airport.

Camryn’s mother expressed her frustration, saying the airline completely mishandled her daughter’s exit from the plane.

“They put my child in immediate danger,” Catherine Larkan said. “It was complete neglect and it shouldn’t happen to any other minor.”

The airline’s policy is that unaccompanied minors are exempt from involuntary disembarkation. The company offers a $100 service plan for children traveling alone. The plan is required for children ages 8 to 11 and optional for children ages 12 to 17.

Camryn’s family didn’t know the service existed, so the airline treated the 14-year-old as an adult.

“At the time, our team was unaware that Camryn was a minor,” a Porter Airlines spokesperson said. “Camryn left the airport quickly and our team had limited ability to discuss options with her.”

Children travelling without an unaccompanied minor plan are considered “independent adults” and are subject to “adult passenger considerations such as weight, balance and unloading situations.”

“They provide a service, saying we know these people are at risk, and they say if you don’t pay for the service, you’re going to be treated like any other adult passenger traveling,” Camryn’s mother said. “It’s just absolutely absurd.”

An airline representative told People magazine that its customer support department is in touch with Camryn’s family and that Porter Airlines is working on solutions to minimize the chance of an incident like this happening again.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Here’s What You Need to Know About Threats in Springfield, Ohio, After False Accusations About Haitian Immigrants

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Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio, theGrio.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A small Ohio town has been flooded with false bomb threats since last week’s presidential debate, when former President Donald Trump falsely accused Members of Springfield’s Haitian community kidnap and eat cats and dogs.

Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has amplified debunked web rumors about Haitian migrants because the Republican ticket criticizes President Joe Biden’s administration’s immigration policies, which Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, supports. City officials acknowledge that the influx of about 15,000 Haitian migrants is causing problems, but say there is no such thing as a evidence to support the claim that they’re eating people’s pets.

More than 30 bomb threats since last week have targeted schools, government buildings and the homes of city officials, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual diversity, arts and culture celebration in response to the threats, and state police on Tuesday distributed in city schools.

Here are some things to know concerning the situation in Springfield:

Who is behind these false threats?

Foreign actors, in particular. That’s according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who said many of the threats got here from abroad. The governor’s office said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies found the “vast majority” of the threats were international in origin. Officials didn’t provide further details on how investigators determined they got here from a foreign country, and DeWine didn’t name the country.

What’s happening?

DeWine has sent dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol members to all 18 city schools, where checks might be conducted twice every day to prevent further disruptions and help parents and students ensure that the buildings are secure. But even with the increased police presence, many parents still didn’t let their children go to school Tuesday.

Meanwhile, security cameras have been placed at strategic locations around the town, and an explosives-sniffing dog has been deployed to Springfield and might be on duty 24 hours a day.

DeWine $2.5 million declared greater than two years to increase support for primary health care. State highway patrol also helps local law enforcement implement traffic laws. DeWine said many Haitians are inexperienced drivers who’re unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws.

How is the town reacting?

Springfield never wanted to be the focus — not like this.

City officials said Tuesday that misinformation and lies about Haitian immigrants have sown fear and division, disrupted science and price taxpayers money. In an announcement, they implored public figures, community members and media to “move beyond divisive rhetoric and instead work to promote unity, understanding and respect.” The statement didn’t mention Trump or Vance by name.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the influx of migrants is straining police, hospitals and schools. He also criticized the federal government, saying the town asked for help months ago. But on Tuesday he urged national leaders to “soften their words and speak the truth.”

Why did so many Haitians move to Springfield?

Work and word of mouth.

Springfield in consequence, industrial jobs were lost and the population dropped significantly late last century. But the town made a concerted effort to attract employers and Haitian immigrants who helped meet the growing demand for employees in its factories and warehouses. Word spread, and Haitians began arriving in larger numbers in the past few years.

Haitians from Springfield and elsewhere have come to the U.S. to escape violence in their home country. Many Haitians are here under a federal program called Temporary Protected Statusallowing them to live and work temporarily in the U.S. because conditions in Haiti are deemed too dangerous for them to return to the island.

What do Haitian immigrants say?

Members of the Haitian community say they were uneasy even before Trump and Vance picked up on the pet-eating lies, as former residents were angered by the brand new arrivals’ impact on jobs, housing and traffic.

“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are afraid for their lives,” Rose-Thamar Joseph said last week on the Springfield Haitian Community Outreach and Support Center.

On church service on Sunday, Mia Perez said her daughter was evacuated from school twice last week.

“Children at school are asked by other children, ‘What does dog taste like? What does cat taste like?'” Perez said. “She asks, ‘Are we Haitians who eat this stuff? Is it true? What’s going on?'”

“It’s a conversation I wasn’t ready to have with my daughter,” Perez said. “I felt disrespected by our culture.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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