Trump hurls insults, racist tropes at Kamala Harris as US election inches closer

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has hurled a series of personal attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “lazy” and repeatedly questioning her intelligence.

At an event in Miami aimed at courting Latino voters, he said Ms Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee for next month’s US election, was “lazy as hell” for not holding a campaign event.

Mr Trump’s comments did not mention that Ms Harris had spent her day in meetings in Washington and recording interviews with Telemundo and NBC.

Instead, Mr Trump lambasted his opposing presidential candidate, referring to the first woman of colour to lead a major party ticket as “slow” and having a “low IQ”.

Later in the day during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, he called Ms Harris a “stupid person” and went on to ask: “Does she drink? Is she on drugs?”

Tuesday marked the first day in more than two weeks that Ms Harris had no public events scheduled after a run of more than 14 consecutive days of travel to political events in pivotal states, including a three-state run on Monday, starting in Pennsylvania, continuing to Michigan and ending in Wisconsin.

Mr Trump, however, has signalled he will lean harder into disparaging Ms Harris during the remaining two weeks before Americans go to the polls on November 4.

Ignoring the advice of his allies who have repeatedly suggested he should steer clear of personal attacks including references to race and gender, Mr Trump also implied that Ms Harris, a one-time California attorney general and US senator, became the Democratic nominee because of her race and gender.

“She’s running because they want to be politically correct,” he told the Miami crowds.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Associated Press’ request for comment in response to Mr Trump’s words.

However, Harris spokesman Ian Sams did highlight on social media that the very day Mr Trump had accused the US Vice President of being “lazy”, he had cancelled on voters that same day.

Mr Trump abandoned a planned town hall event, where he was supposed to appear alongside Republican allies Robert F Kennedy Jr and former US representative Tulsi Gabbard, before his North Carolina campaign rally.

“Donald Trump continuing his recent trend of cancelling campaign events… with just two weeks to go…,” Mr Sams said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Tuesday’s slurs against Ms Harris are the most recent of many jibes against the work ethic of his various opponents throughout his career.

In 2020, He accused President Joe Biden of campaigning from his basement, even as Mr Trump continued to hold large events during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2016, Mr Trump routinely called Democrat Hillary Clinton physically weak and low-energy.

He has also accused both of being under the influence of drugs.

Mr Trump has also engaged in questioning people’s racial backgrounds — including Ms Harris’ — throughout his life and career as a businessman and politician.

Using the term “lazy” to describe Ms Harris, who is black and of South Asian descent, evokes racial tropes that paint black Americans as lazy, unsophisticated, submissive or inept.

Such stereotypes have been pervasive throughout American history. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the stereotypes had a purpose and “were used to help commodify black bodies and justify the business of slavery”.

“Yet laziness, as well as characteristics of submissiveness, backwardness, lewdness, treachery, and dishonesty, historically became stereotypes assigned to African Americans,” the institution found.