Politics and identity: Racism on the US campaign trail

FRANCE 24 English

From comments on curry to fried chicken, we take a look at how racially charged views have gone viral in the US presidential campaign. We find out how the latest controversy began with a tweet by right-winger influencer Laura Loomer. We also dive into how racial identity is a hot topic, and a potentially precarious one, in the election campaign.  This Entre Nous aired on Paris Direct, September 19, 2024. A programme produced by Amanda Alexander, Marina Pajovic and Georgina Robertson.  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00Now, it's time to get a check on the latest from the presidential campaign in the United

00:04States with Solange Mougin.

00:05Solange, great to see you.

00:07Today you're focusing on racism and specifically comments about curry that went viral.

00:12Tell us more.

00:13Yeah.

00:14Over the past week, there has been a great deal of buzz about the Trump campaign's relationship

00:21to curry, the food, the spices that you eat.

00:24And I'm going to break down where these comments came from and how the Republican Party knows

00:29that they and other racist comments could be a liability for Trump.

00:33To do this, I need to tell you about a woman.

00:35Her name is Laura Loomer.

00:37She is a 31-year-old right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist.

00:42As she said that 9-11 was, quote-unquote, an inside job.

00:45She is also a self-proclaimed racist.

00:48She has described Islam as, quote, a cancer on humanity.

00:52She signs tweets with the hashtag proud Islamophobe.

00:55She has over a million followers on X.

00:59Earlier this month, she traveled with Donald Trump to the debate and to 9-11 memorial services.

01:04She also tweeted the following statement three days before those services on September 8th.

01:10She wrote, quote, if Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry and the

01:15White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.

01:21Wow.

01:23Now this statement rightfully has received a lot of backlash.

01:26Yeah, the tweet refers to Harris's South Asian heritage.

01:30Her mother was born in India and her father is from Jamaica.

01:33And it was quickly criticized by Democrats and Republicans, even ones that you wouldn't

01:38necessarily expect.

01:40Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has a history of controversial statements, she wrote, quote,

01:45this is appalling and extremely racist.

01:48It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA.

01:52And a Republican senator tweeted that she that Loomer is hurting Trump's chances of

01:58winning.

01:59Laura Loomer is a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters discouraging, disgusting

02:04garbage intended to divide Republicans.

02:06Now, JD Vance also weighed in on television on Meet the Press, saying that Loomer's comments

02:12were not important.

02:14And then and this is where the story gets even more racially charged.

02:18He said, quote, whether you're eating curry at your dinner table or fried chicken, things

02:23have gotten more expensive thanks to her Kamala Harris's policies.

02:27Now, there was immediate backlash to that comment, saying that Vance was now also making

02:33anti-Black commentary by referring to fried chicken.

02:36One commentator called him on social media a quote unquote KKK whisperer.

02:42Vance in turn said all of this was a media frenzy over nothing, that he grew up eating

02:46fried chicken.

02:47As a side note here, it's also important to note that Vance's wife is of Indian ancestry.

02:53She attended an event after the comment where they kissed after the interview.

02:59As for Donald Trump's response, it is a mixed bag.

03:02On the one hand, Trump has said he disagrees with Loomer's statements, but he's also said

03:05that he doesn't control her and that she's a free spirit.

03:09And she has, of course, been traveling with him since those comments.

03:12Exactly.

03:13So she clearly she has his ear.

03:15Now, are we giving too much attention to this person's comments?

03:18Well, you could argue that.

03:19And that is actually what the Vance camp has been trying to do, which begs the question

03:23of why are they doing that, especially considering the history of racially charged comments from

03:28Trump and his team, and considering also that some, but not all, of his supporters buy into

03:34this notion of white grievance or that they've been left behind in favor of minorities.

03:39So what's interesting here is the bigger picture, the role that racial identity is playing in

03:45the campaign.

03:46Take, for example, this past summer, there was backlash when Trump questioned Harris's

03:51ethnicity with these words.

03:54She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage.

03:59I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black

04:04and now she wants to be known as black.

04:06So I don't know.

04:07Is she Indian or is she black?

04:09Now, since then, Trump has backpedaled at the debate.

04:13He did so saying that Harris can be whatever she wants to be, all the while pushing as

04:18well racially charged and false accusations about Haitians, about immigrants eating pets.

04:24Now, political analysts say that the Republican Party wants to stay as far away as possible

04:29from racially charged comments in this campaign, because while it may speak to a white supremacist

04:35minority, it does the opposite in regard to minority voters and also even white moderate

04:41voters that Trump needs to win the election.

04:45And studies show that not only have white American voters become more sympathetic to

04:49minorities and to racial unfairness since the Obama administration, but studies also

04:54show that explicit racism often backfires in campaigns because overt racism violates

05:01social norms and the ideals of equality that many voters have.

05:05Both Republicans and Democrats, they know this.

05:08Harris today, for example, is doing a live stream with Oprah Winfrey called Unite for

05:13America.

05:14And as for the Republicans, well, some Trump critics say in his party wonder if he'll be

05:19able to toe the line of not too many racially charged comments and not too many scary influencers.

05:27Do you like curry?

05:28I do love curry.

05:29I love a good curry.

05:31Of course.

05:32It has to be spicy.

05:33What else?

05:34Thank you very much for that, Solange Mougent, on the state of the race.

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