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Andrea Austria / Media Matters

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Dozens of right-wing media personalities suggested Kamala Harris’ political success is due to DEI

Right-wing media have repeatedly demonized DEI initiatives. Now they’re trying to attach the concept to the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

Written by Gideon Taaffe

Published

Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee, many right-wing media figures have tried to make her the face of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. At least 40 right-wing personalities have claimed that she is a “DEI candidate” or insinuated she owes her success to her race, ethnicity, and/or gender.

Right-wing media have a long record of attacking race-conscious policies and studies such as critical race theory and DEI efforts, including suggesting DEI stands for “Didn’t Earn It.”

Now, rather than focusing on Harris’ years of experience and advocacy on a number of key Democratic issues, many in right-wing media have chalked up her likely nomination to “racial idolatry issues,” claimed that she took a “DEI-based path” to the vice presidency, suggested that she will “be the first DEI president” if elected, and said she “literally ‘Didn’t Earn It.’”

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  • Right-wing media have attacked CRT and DEI and used them to undermine Black achievement

    • After years of using “critical race theory” as a vessel for coded racist attacks, right-wing media shifted their focus to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The focus on DEI used many of the same targets as the attacks on CRT, but broadened the scope from just the education system to corporate and government realms. [Media Matters, 6/23/21, The New York Times, 1/20/24]
    • Right-wing media have blamed or attacked DEI initiatives over a variety of events that DEI had nothing to do with, suggesting the initiatives cause companies to hire unqualified people. Conservative personalities attacked or blamed DEI after a Boeing mechanical malfunction, a Baltimore bridge collapse, the Trump assassination attempt, and Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. [Media Matters, 1/25/24, 3/30/24; The Washington Post, 7/16/24; Fox News, Fox News @ Night, 6/18/24]
    • Right-wing media personalities have used DEI to belittle the achievements of Black people in positions of authority by suggesting the acronym stands for “Didn’t Earn It.” Fox News’ Jesse Watters even labeled Vice President Kamala Harris the “DEI vice president” back in January. [Media Matters, 4/5/24; Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 1/24/24] 

  • Here are 40 right-wing commentators who have used DEI to attack Harris, or claimed she was chosen for her race or sex, since Biden dropped out of the presidential race

    1. Fox News host Greg Gutfeld claimed Harris’ selection mimicked DEI hiring practices. Gutfeld said on The Five: “The New York Times had profound concerns about her electability. They said that the process of public scrutiny was ignored. What does that sound like to you? It’s DEI.” [Fox News, The Five, 7/22/24]
    2. Fox News host Laura Ingraham dismissed concerns about calling Harris a “DEI candidate.” Ingraham: “People have called Kamala the DEI candidate, but Democrats, they don't like that.” After playing one criticism of the attack she asked, “That's it?” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 7/23/24]
    3. Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed “the only reason” Harris is vice president is because of “the DEI deal Biden cut with [Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] to seal the nomination.” He also said “many people believe Kamala Harris is being promoted because of what she looks like and nothing else.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 7/23/24]
    4. OutKick’s Clay Travis called Harris “DEI personified.” Travis: “Kamala Harris, not that bright, not that accomplished, doesn't have a family of her own, never had kids, got her scarred start in politics as the side chick of a Democrat San Francisco mayor. She is DEI personified.” [OutKick, OutKick the Show, 7/21/24]
    5. Fox News contributor Leo Terrell posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “Kamala is the choice of the DEI Party.” He also described the Democrats as the “Race Card Party,” “Affirmative Action Party,” and the “Critical Race Party.” [Twitter/X, 7/21/24]
    6. Fox News contributor Ben Domenich said Harris took the “DEI-based path” to the vice presidency. [Fox News, Life, Liberty, & Levin, 7/21/24]
    7. Newsmax host Sebastian Gorka called Harris “literally a DEI hire” and said she will be the nominee because her “skin color is the correct DEI color.” Gorka later added, “So this choice, this trap they [Democrats] have created for themselves of Kamala, the DEI hire, it's not going to be very popular with the average American. So keep up, keep it up, keep on going, Kamala.” [Newsmax, Newsmax broadcast, 7/21/24]
    8. Later in that segment, Newsmax anchor Bob Brooks agreed with Gorka, saying, “She very well might be the first DEI president.” [Newsmax, Newsmax broadcast, 7/21/24]
    9. In a social media rant, Newsmax host Chris Plante said Harris is “a woman of color” and “that’s why she was chosen in the first place.” [Twitter/X, 7/23/24]
    10. On Jesse Watters Primetime, podcast host Jason Calacanis discussed Harris as the nominee, telling Watters, “I think what they are going to learn is that the DEI candidate concept is just not going to work.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 7/21/24]
    11. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk repeatedly mispronounced Harris' name while calling her “deeply scary” and “a DEI candidate.” Kirk told his audience, “He chose her based on the same criteria of DEI that got Trump shot, that has been destroying this country. The very same DEI ideology that has been sweeping the nation is now the standard bearer of the Democrat Party, and I think that is perfect.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 7/22/24]
    12. Daily Wire host Matt Walsh called Harris “the DEI vice president.” He added, “It's quite fitting that the first Black — well, sort of Black — female presidential nominee was handed the job and didn't earn it.” [The Daily Wire, The Matt Walsh Show, 7/22/24]
    13. Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro claimed “the only reason” Harris is vice president is “because of her sex and her race.” “If she were a white man,” Shapiro continued, “she never would have even been a senator from California let alone vice president of the United States. Everyone including Democrats knows this.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 7/23/24]
    14. Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said “there’s no doubt” that “Harris is a DEI hire” on Sean Hannity’s radio show. O’Reilly was responding to Hannity’s comment that “I don’t like the DEI argument. … I think that is ridiculous.” O’Reilly claimed, “I don’t think it’s a ridiculous argument, but I don’t think it advances the cause of the election. Kamala Harris is a DEI hire; there’s no doubt about it. Now, if you want to state this as a fact, I don’t have a problem, because it is a fact. But that’s not going to get voters mobilized.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/24/24]
    15. BlazeTV’s Glenn Beck claimed that Democrats “took [Harris] on for DEI purposes.” Beck: “You [Democrats] took her on -- you know you took her on because of DEI. You took her on for DEI purposes and now you're not going to let her go because you say she's not qualified?” [BlazeTV, The Glenn Beck Program, 7/23/24]
    16. The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said Biden picked Harris as his running mate “because she's a Black woman.” Knowles said, “She was picked for VP, it would seem, based on the way that she ran in 2020. Now, of course that’s not true. As Joe Biden told us, she was picked for VP because she's a Black woman. … The way it was all pitched, after the fact, was that Kamala was picked based on her campaign, based on her ability to be president should anything happen to Joe Biden.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 7/24/24]
    17. Right-wing host Steve Deace claimed that Democrats are coalescing behind Harris because of “racial idolatry issues.” [BlazeTV, The Steve Deace Show, 7/22/24]
    18. TimCast IRL’s Ian Crossland said Harris was made vice president because of her skin color. Crossland: “I don't see leadership material in the woman, but they put her in as the vice president because she was Black. She's not even Black — I hate that term — but like because of her dark skin.” [TimCast IRL, 7/24/24]
    19. Right-wing host Jesse Kelly said, “She's a DEI hire. She's a disgrace. Every part of her career has been an embarrassment.” [The First, I’m Right w/Jesse Kelly, 7/24/24]
    20. Dinesh D’Souza called Harris a “walking ad for like DEI” on his podcast. His guest, Turning Point USA’s Caitlin Sinclair, called Harris “100% a DEI hire.” [Salem Podcast Network, The Dinesh D’Souza Podcast, 7/22/24]
    21. Rudy Giuliani called Harris the “first DEI pick for president” on his podcast. He claimed Harris was unqualified and her rise is based on “gender and race.” [YouTube, America’s Mayor Live, 7/23/24]
    22. On her podcast, Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said that the Democrats are stuck with Harris as a “DEI hire.” Trump added, “That’s exactly who she’s always been.” [The Right View with Lara Trump, 7/24/24] 
    23. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his latest show: “They have to go with Kamala because she’s sorta Black, sorta Indian, and a woman – for DEI reasons.” He added, “She’s a moron, in a job she doesn’t deserve. That’s the whole point of DEI is to elevate people who don’t deserve their jobs to positions of power.” [Tucker Carlson Network, The Tucker Carlson Show, 7/22/24]
    24. On Carlson’s show, far-right personality Jack Posobiec agreed with Carlson’s attribution of Harris’ success to DEI, saying “it’s tough” for Democrats to “pass her over” because of DEI. [Tucker Carlson Network, The Tucker Carlson Show, 7/22/24]
    25. Right-wing podcaster Dave Rubin called Harris a “diversity hire who nobody likes.” [Twitter/X, 7/21/24]
    26. Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson said that if Harris picked Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as her running mate it would be the “full DEI presidential ticket.” He continued, “There you go. You have … the full victimhood, class presidential ticket.” [The Benny Show, 7/21/24]
    27. Daily Wire host Jordan Peterson called Harris “DEI Barbie'' on social media. He posted, “My new grandson and me giving the thumbs up to the news that @thedemocrats most qualified candidate is DEI Barbie.” [Twitter/X, 7/22/24]
    28. On Fox News, Project 2025 contributor Monica Crowley said former first lady Michelle Obama will run for president because she “squares the Kamala Harris circle: being a minority and a DEI hire.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 7/21/24]
    29. The Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo posted a screenshot of a CNN article about Biden considering selecting a Black woman for his running mate in 2020, calling it the “definition of DEI.” He wrote on X: “Selecting on ancestry and anatomy, rather than talent and virtue, is the definition of DEI.” [Twitter/X, 7/24/24]
    30. Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter called Harris a “cackling DEI hire.” He called her “incompetent” and added, “She is the personification of every idiot promoted over more worthy people that you have ever encountered in you daily life.” [Twitter/X, 7/24/24]
    31. Conservative podcaster Bill Mitchell claimed Biden had better options to pick for his running mate in 2020, adding, “Does anyone doubt he chose Kamala because she's a black woman?” [Twitter/X, 7/24/24]
    32. Right-wing personality Rob Smith, who has been a Turning Point USA contributor, called Harris the “DEI soon-to-be nominee for President.” [Twitter/X, 7/22/24; Fox News, accessed 7/22/24]
    33. Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer cited DEI as the reason Kamala Harris “gets leapfrogged from a dud of a candidacy in 2020 to now being the nominee.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 7/25/24]
    34. Washington Examiner’s Zachary Faria wrote an editorial titled “Democratic challenges to Harris are DEI’d on arrival.” [Washington Examiner, 7/22/24]
    35. Senior editor at the Federalist David Harsanyi wrote on X, “Kamala Harris was definitely a DEI hire.” [Twitter/X, 7/25/24]
    36. Daily Caller contributor Carly Atchinson Bird claimed Harris was picked as Biden’s VP “because of her identity as a black and South Asian American woman.” Her op-ed o misleadingly stated, “The Democrat machine successfully circumvented millions of primary voters in what has become, essentially, a coronation of Harris just over 100 days before November.” [The Daily Caller, 7/23/24; PBS, 7/24/24]
    37. Right-wing figure James Lindsay responded “Definitely DEI all along” to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) pointing out Harris’ credentials on social media. [Twitter/X, 7/25/24]
    38. Manhattan Institute’s Ilya Shapiro: “She really is running a DEI campaign.” He posted in response to a fundraiser called “White dudes for Harris.” [Twitter/X, 7/26/24]
    39. Right-wing comedian Terrence K. Williams wrote, “Kamala Harris is DEI!” adding that “She literally ‘Didn’t Earn It.’” [Twitter/X, 7/26/24]
    40. Right-wing social media account Amuse wrote, “Sadly Kamala is a DEI hire plain and simple.” [Twitter/X, 7/28/24]