The GOP is having its own racial identity crisis

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Aug 06, 2024 View in browser   By Brakkton Booker, Madison Fernandez, Jessica Piper and Jesse Naranjo What up, Recast fam. On today’s agenda: Trump’s racial attacks are putting the GOP in a strange position Rep. Cori Bush has a pivotal primary in Missouri tonight, as pro-Israel forces try to oust her The Veep pick is in: What we know about Tim Walz Former President Donald Trump addresses the National Association of Black Journalists on July 31 in Chicago. | POLITICO illustration/Photo by AP Donald Trump and his allies ratcheting up attacks on Kamala Harris over her Blackness, is, at its core, meant to sow doubt about her authenticity as a candidate. “She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went — she became a Black person,” Trump said last week during a contentious interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. “I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Of course the answer is both. However, in one fell swoop, Trump managed to put the Republican Party in an uncomfortable position. Several of his lawmaker allies have expressed their unhappiness on the record. Others are trying to defend his statements. Meanwhile, his most ardent supporters are viewing the former president's departure from a once-disciplined campaign as a signal that racialized attacks are back en vogue. Even as the Harris campaign works to further define the Democratic nominee and her record, the GOP is facing its own identity crisis. The party that’s made significant strides appealing to voters beyond its traditional white male base is now running the risk of undercutting those efforts — all in an attempt to sully a political opponent. It’s set the stage for some cringe-worthy moments that aren’t helping Trump build back his advantage in key swing state polls, which he’s seen obliterated since Harris took the Democratic mantle.   Was The Recast forwarded to you by a friend? Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter here. You'll get a weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy.   JD Vance, the Ohio senator and Trump’s running mate, is no stranger to attacks from race-baiting commentators, the same ones who questioned his “values” for marrying a woman “that far outside your race.” Vance, speaking from the Arizona-Mexico border in an attempt to troll Harris and question her ability to stem illegal migrant crossings, was forced to answer for Trump and his racialized rhetoric. Trump speaks during a moderated discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention in Chicago last week. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP When asked about Trump’s comments, Vance told CNN, “She pretends to be somebody different depending on the audience she is in front of. I think it’s totally reasonable for the president to call that out.” In a weekend interview with ABC News, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) suggested Trump’s comments were fair game because it's “a conversation throughout social media right now.” Both Donalds and Vance are feeble messengers here. After all, they are both fathers of biracial children, and Donalds’ mother is from Jamaica, while Vance’s wife, Usha, is the daughter of Indian immigrants. “This is really a phony controversy. I don't really care,” Donalds told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, pointing out that Trump has been relatively quiet about Harris’ identity since his NABJ interview. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (left) is among Trump's Black allies dismissing the controversy surrounding his comments. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Trump doesn’t have to say anything more. He’s already given those in his orbit — in particular, other Black folks — the cover to wield the issue like a cudgel. At Trump’s Saturday rally in Georgia, Michaelah Montgomery, an Atlanta-based conservative activist, said, “The left is trying to tout this woman as a savior for the Black community, but all she’s done is hurt the Black community since she’s come into the game.” “The same Black people who are mad at Trump for being confused about her race, ethnicity, nationality … are seemingly forgetting that while you’re touting her as a savior for Black people, she identifies as an Asian woman,” said Montgomery, who appeared in viral videos in April when she bear-hugged Trump at a local Chick-fil-A. “She chose her side,” Montgomery added, “and it wasn’t ours.” Even as some of the former president’s Black supporters try to distance themselves from the most salacious attacks on Harris, many believe her identity is on the table. “I've been critical of folks who have tried to make this election about DEI hires ... I don't think that is smart,” Trump ally CJ Pearson, a Gen Z GOP activist who is working to help Trump flip Georgia this fall, tells The Recast. However: When asked if this would be a sustained line of attack on his Democratic opponent, the Trump campaign blamed the media for fanning the storyline. “The Democrats and biased media keeps trying to make this about race and gender,” Janiyah Thomas, the Trump campaign’s Black media director, wrote to The Recast in a statement Monday evening. “President Trump is simply raising questions that many in the Black community have been asking about Kamala for years, and he will also continue to expose her dangerously liberal and failed record that has made life less affordable and less safe for Black Americans,” she said.  For her part, Harris has largely left the controversy alone, saying simply, “The American people deserve better,” in remarks to a historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho last week. With the election now just three months away, it is unclear if Harris will be forced to more directly address her racial identity to a curious electorate. Harris arrives to deliver remarks at a gathering of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho last week in Houston. | LM Otero/AP But if Harris leaves the issue unchecked, that may amplify the echo chamber, allowing it to influence enough voters on Election Day. We’ll keep tabs on how this all shakes out. All the best, The Recast Team   CAN CORI BUSH HANG ON? Democratic Rep. Cori Bush faces a tough primary challenge in her Missouri seat today. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images An aggressive campaign from pro-Israel groups helped take down a member of the progressive Squad earlier this cycle. Those forces are hoping to oust another member today, our Madison Fernandez and Jessica Piper write in. Democratic Rep. Cori Bush faces a tough primary challenge in Missouri’s 1st District from St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who’s backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political arm. Pro-Israel groups have vowed to spend heavily in elections this year to block candidates they deem insufficiently supportive of Israel, and members of the Squad have been targeted, in part, for their support for Palestinians amid the war in the Middle East. Here are some numbers to know ahead of the results tonight. — $19 million: That’s how much is being spent on TV, radio and digital advertisements, according to ad tracker AdImpact. It’s the second most expensive House primary this cycle after Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-N.Y.), a fellow Squad member who lost his reelection bid. The biggest spender in Bush’s race is United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, which has put in around $9 million to defeat her. Other groups are also pouring in money to unseat Bush, including pro-crypto group Fairshake, which spent $1.5 million on ads. Mainstream Democrats, a super PAC backed in part by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman that supports moderate candidates, spent over $750,000. And DMFI PAC, another pro-Israel group, put in more than $400,000. Bell’s campaign spent $3 million on ads, a notable amount for a first-time congressional candidate. Bush's challenger, Wesley Bell, casts his ballot in Clayton, Missouri, on Tuesday morning. | Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images Despite the barrage against Bush, she’s not without reinforcements. Progressive group Justice Democrats, her biggest supporter, placed $2.5 million. Bush’s campaign has spent around $1 million on ads. — 62 percent: That’s how much AIPAC contributions constitute of Bell’s total fundraising haul through mid-July. The group contributed just shy of $3 million to Bell’s campaign through July 17, per filings from the Federal Election Commission. — Zero: That’s how many TV ads in this race mention Israel, even with pro-Israel groups hovering over the contest. Many of UDP’s ads go after Bush for not voting with President Joe Biden on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and debt limit deal, accusing her of being an ineffective lawmaker. Others boost Bell’s pro-abortion rights stance. It’s not an uncommon tactic for the group: In May, UDP told POLITICO that they “run ads on the issues voters are most focused on” and they run ads on Israel “where it makes sense.” Bush and her allies, meanwhile, have leaned into messaging accusing Bell of having ties to Republicans, referencing AIPAC’s Republican donors. (Major Democratic donors have given to AIPAC as well.) She also attacked Bell’s handling of Michael Brown’s 2014 death after he became St. Louis County prosecutor in 2019. — Three: That’s how many incumbents have been ousted this cycle — Bowman, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.). It’s proved difficult to kick a sitting member out of Congress, even for well-funded challengers.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (VEEP EDITION) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters after a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House, on July 3, 2024. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images IT’S TIM: Harris is set to Walz into the Democratic Convention with her running mate. The vice president chose second-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to join her atop the ticket, ending weeks of veepstakes speculation. As POLITICO’s Eugene Daniels, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein note, his progressive overhaul of the state’s government represents a template of what Democrats hope to do nationally — and his background could help garner white, blue-collar voter support in the Rust Belt. And more: Here’s 55 things you need to know about Walz (POLITICO Magazine’s Anusha Mathur) How this pick may block Trump’s dream of flipping Minnesota. (POLITICO's Adam Wren, Natalie Allison and Burgess Everett) Not so fast: Walz may suffer some lingering resentment from some voters for his response to the George Floyd protests of 2020. (NYT’s Mitch Smith) He’s not required to resign his post in order to run for vice president. But if he does, lieutenant governor ​​Peggy Flanagan would become the nation’s first Native American woman governor. (MPR News’ Ellie Roth and Brian Bakst)   TODAY’S POP CULTURE RECS WATCH: Big names in comedy, including Tiffany Haddish, D.L. Hughley and Margaret Cho joined a Zoom call Monday evening that was billed as “the biggest virtual comedy show ever” to throw support behind Harris' candidacy. This affinity group — following similar, near-daily calls by white dudes, white women, Black women, Black men, Latinas, LGBTQ+ folks and South Asian women — came together to profess their love ... and raked in more than $534,000. The event had its share of elected officials too, from Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California to Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. But the harshest diss, in our opinion, came from SNL alum Cecily Strong: “JD Vance has been such a mistake, Trump keeps calling him Eric.” WEDDING: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Mindy Noce tied the knot over the weekend. READ: How campaigns are turning to YouTube influencers to connect with Latino voters. Edited by Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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