Fox News anchor Lawrence Jones warned Republicans on Wednesday that focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rather than Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy record will “tick voters off.”
The “Fox & Friends” panel laid out Harris’ political record throughout her career, including her handling of the border crisis, her support for anti-Israel protesters, and her advocacy for canceling student debt and slashing police funding during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020. Jones said Republicans would benefit themselves by solely attacking Harris’ policy record rather than her race and gender.
“We just laid out from senator to attorney general, prosecutor to vice president,” Jones said. “There’s a wealth of information when it comes to Kamala Harris. Her record. All these other attacks are just unnecessary, it’s gonna tick voters off, it’s gonna make this an identity politics race and if you decide to do that, you’re gonna lose. If you start attacking her based on being DEI and all the other stuff like that, you’re gonna turn voters off.”
Fox News’ Lawrence Jones Warns DEI Attacks Against Kamala Harris May ‘Tick Voters Off’ pic.twitter.com/y512ctAQRw
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 24, 2024
Jones said while President Joe Biden “set the stage” for the DEI attacks by committing to selecting a woman as his running mate in 2020, these criticisms against Harris would negatively impact gaining Republican support in black communities ahead of the election.
“Look, I understand it. Biden set the stage for it saying ‘hey, I’m only going to select a black woman.’ But you never want to make, when the GOP is gaining ground in black America, for that to be the one thing that you’re attacking her on. There’s a lot of stuff we just laid out,” Jones said. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: VP Kamala Harris Promoted Bail Fund That Released Alleged Rioters, Sex Offenders And Women Beaters)
The panel further noted the conviction rate in San Francisco spiking from 52% to 67% during Harris’ first three years as district attorney, and the passage of Prop 47 in 2014 which is widely blamed for the surge in retail theft throughout California. As senator, Harris co-sponsored the Green New Deal, advocated for a fracking ban in 2019 and supported healthcare for illegal immigrants.
Then-Sen. Harris further compared Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan in 2018 and suggested the agency should be abolished and started “from scratch.”
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett accused Harris of being “a DEI hire” during a Monday interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, where he cited Biden committing to hiring “a black female for vice president” during his 2020 campaign. CNN anchor Brianna Keilar accused Burchett on Tuesday of using the term “DEI hire” as a “veiled slur” against Harris, while Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida said the term holds the same meaning as the “the n-word” during a CNN interview on Tuesday.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
