The event was combative from the start as Trump and three moderators from the National Association of Black Journalists sparred throughout.

The event was combative from the start as Trump and three moderators from the National Association of Black Journalists sparred throughout.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ race took center stage in a combative back-and-forth exchange with former President Donald Trump during a panel discussion Wednesday at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago.

“I did not know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now wants to be known as Black,” Trump said.

“I respect either one," he added, "but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went she became Black. … Somebody should look into that too.”

It was in response to a question about the appropriateness of some Republicans saying Harris is a “DEI hire,” a term referring to workplace policies promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion.” It has increasingly been used by some on the right to discredit people of colorwith opposing political views.

    • ChadCMulligan@lemm.eeEnglish
      102·
      4 months ago

      I don’t know, man, I honestly think this is about as raveled as his campaign has ever been.

      • braindefragger@lemmy.world
        51·
        4 months ago

        It kinda feels like both. We are seeing his campaign machine at full speed, but for some reason it feels a bit broken. I guess we’ll see where everything is in a month or so.

        • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
          58·
          4 months ago

          a dam has been broken… the dam that was joe bidens terrible idea at running. you had millions of people resolved to picking the older guy by default because fascism. they werent voting for president, they were voting against trump.

          harris has enabled a metric fuck-tonne of people to stand up and get energized for a capable human being.

          at the same time trumps campaign has been squarely focused on intimidating/making fun of biden. they are hopelessly lost in re-grouping n an attempt to attack harris. lets hope it stays discombobulated

          AND then theres the Weird thing, which is sticking for some reason. awesome!

          • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
            28·
            4 months ago

            Love the “weird” thing. People don’t make decisions using logic, almost always emotions are the key. Every salesman and politician knows this, though liberals seem to have missed the memo.

            Democrats are finally hitting Trump voters where it hurts, right in the emotions, with not much of a way to spin it. Calling Trump a fascist rolls right off their back. “Of course libs would say that!” But “weird” resonates in some way I can’t put my finger on.

            • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
              21·
              4 months ago

              its their own level! most conservatives couldnt define fascism if their life depended on it.

              but weird… weird is a term they use and understand. as you point out harris is finally speaking to them on their own simplistic, emotional level.

              theres also the stronger rhetoric biden would never use like threatening to showing up to a debate alone or telling him to ‘say it to my face’.

              • commandar@lemmy.world
                18·
                4 months ago

                It also helps that their attempts to redirect back mostly serve to highlight their weird preoccupations.

                Things are happening like a former Trump speechwriter posting “Emmett Till was weird” on Twitter because they can’t comprehend just how unhinged and generally weird saying something like that is to a normal person.

                Or they think they’re being clever flipping the script and ranting about “boys saying they’re girls is weird.” “Why do you spend so much time obsessing over what children have in their pants? That’s really weird.”

                It all puts them in a bind. If they try to defend what they’re saying as normal, it’s very clear that it isn’t. If they try to deflect with what they think is weird, it just shows how detached they are from normal reality. It’s a surprisingly effective line of attack that largely neutralizes their normal gish galloping.

            • confusedpuppy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
              7·
              4 months ago

              I’ve been enjoying the use or weird lately. I’ve had some strong personal opinions on language lately. A lot of it comes with a huge increase of new words that sort of seem abstract from it’s meaning.

              I think with how rapid information can spread to large groups of people, it’s just too fast for my mind to keep up. All of a sudden I feel like I’m in a war with words and who knows which landmine of a word will get you in trouble. It causes me even more anxiety when someone comes at you with manipulative intentions in order to control the direction of the discussion.

              I think weird works because it’s an almost basic word. It’s simple and descriptive. It’s not a newer, more specific word that requires a deeper understanding of a broader topic. It’s understood by more people. People with varying degrees of language knowledge including people whose native language is not English. It’s easier for more people to understand.

              It’s a lot easier to understand someone is weird compared to someone being a fascist.

          • knightly the Sneptaur@pawb.social
            6·
            4 months ago

            It’s sticking because it’s true.

            Democrats don’t act like the Republican party is a threat to democracy, so their attempts to play up that line of rhetoric always fall flat.

            However, Democrats are happy to work with weird people like the Republicans, making this line of attack much more impactful because it’s the first honest bit of propaganda in years.

        • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
          5·
          4 months ago

          Its feels like its got a small crack in the engine block. Like its not quite affecting it yet but you can still hear something is wrong with it.

      • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
        25·
        4 months ago

        Honestly. I see so many people saying Trump and republicans are falling apart and they’re terrified, but I’m like, this is the exact same rhetoric we’ve been getting from them for 8 years.

        • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
          21·
          4 months ago

          i wouldnt say falling apart… i would say ‘stumbling’. i do think the stumble is worse now than hes ever experienced.

          • attendance is down at all his rallies.
          • the negative press is increasing for a now convicted felon running against a prosecutor can only get sweeter.
          • he picked a vp that is a revolting couch-fucker compared to the chaste previous incarnation.
          • hes about to have to pay 450 milllion dollars.
          • he is now saying the fascist dictator plans out loud.

          thats just off the top of my head.

          … and then theres the other side… harris is rallying people in volumes we havent seen since obama

    • bagelberger@lemmy.world
      13·
      4 months ago

      Even his campaign thinks so. It was so bad they pulled him offstage before the final question about Project 2025 could be asked.

    • tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works
      4·
      4 months ago

      Remember 2016. Everybody thought he would lose, said his campaign was a train wreck… He’s saying the same shit that got him elected last time.

      So I wouldn’t say it’s unraveling. This is the kind of campaign that can make him win.

      • braindefragger@lemmy.world
        2·
        4 months ago

        9 days later and he’s a mess. This is not the same as 2016. Nothing about this election is like 2016. Did we forget he already lost last time in 2020?

      • Snowclone@lemmy.world
        1·
        4 months ago

        He won’t have Comey in the eleventh hour handng him a huge gift in reopening the investigation that never had anything to go on for years because they found another laptop with all the same data on it as before but ’ it might be illegal until we double verify it’s all the exact same data as our analysts have already said it is ’

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
    94·
    4 months ago

    Weird creepy old man completely fails to read the room and says stupid shit. More news at 10

  • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
    42·
    4 months ago

    Old white conservative confused by person being multi-racial, and GOP egotists can’t stand being called “weird”, this and more news at 11.

  • Granbo's Holy Hotrod@lemmy.world
    29·
    4 months ago

    Someone should look into that? What is it with this guy making weird requests against his opponents. He is so used to giving direction this way like a gangster. Removes any personal responcibility from his statements.

  • ChadCMulligan@lemm.eeEnglish
    24·
    4 months ago

    So this event went exactly as well as anyone with any common sense at all would assume it would go? 🤣🤣🤷‍♂️

  • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    4 months ago

    Interesting that he puts it this way. Surely he knows that once you go Black, you don’t go back?

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        6·
        4 months ago

        It was in heavy rotation on one of the movie channels for a while when I was a kid (my dad was a movie historian, so we had HBO, Cinemax and Showtime so he could tape movies to show to class) and also Rae Dawn Chong is in it and I was horny and like 12.

        • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
          6·
          4 months ago

          also Rae Dawn Chong is in it and I was horny and like 12.

          Sounds like our ages are within a few years of each other. She was not the only reason I liked Beat Street, but it didn’t hurt.

          FWIW, I rewatched Beat Street a few months ago, with a little bit of fear that I’d find one of my old favorites was actually unwatchable drek.

          Nope. I know it wasn’t an oscar winner, and maybe I’m one of like 15 people who think this, but that movie still slaps, and I appreciated some of the commentary far more deeply with a few more decades behind me.

          Also Rae Dawn Chong.

    • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      4 months ago

      He acts like someone who has this election on lock.

      Funny that he doesn’t remember how that worked out for Clinton.