‘Just Try Racism’: MSNBC Guest Claims GOP Used ‘First Instinct’ Against Kamala Harris

A New York Times opinion writer claimed Tuesday that Republicans decided to “just try racism” when criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris.

President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid on Sunday and subsequently endorsed Harris to replace him as the party nominee. NYT editorial writer Mara Gay claimed during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Republican criticism of Harris was driven by a “first instinct” to be “racist and sexist.” (RELATED: ‘Kamala Was In On It’: Trump-Aligned PAC Drops Anti-Kamala Harris Ad Less Than Two Hours After Biden Quit)

“You know, I guess in not quite knowing what the line of attack should be, the Republicans in 2024, their first instinct is just to be racist and sexist. I guess that’s, like, a tick that they’ve developed at this point,” Gay told co-host Mika Brzezinski.

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‘Just Try Racism’: MSNBC Guest Claims GOP Used ‘First Instinct’ Against Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/OfkgHBdZhG

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“You know, the problem for J.D. Vance and for the Trump campaign is that anybody who — any voter who is going to be responding to that by voting for them — was probably not going to vote for the Democrats anyway,” Gay continued. “So what they’re actually doing is they are motivating every Democratic voter, every fence sitter, every independent voter, and people who just are disgusted by racism and sexism and want a multi-racial democracy continue to the polls. When the AKAs hear that, they’re going to March in formation to the poll. So that’s the contribution that J.D. Vance is making. Saying you should be grateful for this country, it’s just — all that is a dog whistle, calling her uppity. Every black voter in America knows that. This is really not helping his case. But I guess that’s just their go-to line. When all else fails, just try racism.”

Harris currently trails Trump by 1.9% in a national head-to-head matchup, according to the Real Clear Polling average of polls from July 5 to July 22. Trump’s lead grows to 4.7% when Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein and independent presidential candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are included in surveys, dated between June 28 and July 21.

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