By David Velazquez
Casper Star-Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange
CASPER — Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her a “DEI hire.”
The comments followed Sunday’s announcement that President Joe Biden would not seek reelection. Biden swiftly endorsed Harris as his favored Democratic presidential nominee.
In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Hageman said she thinks Harris is “one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country.”
“Intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel… I think she was a DEI hire. And I think that that’s what we’re seeing, and I just don’t think that they have anybody else,” she continued.
The Wyoming Democratic Delegation endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday evening for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, and on Wednesday the party condemned the statement by Hageman, calling her remarks racist.
“It took only three days for Harriet Hageman to disgrace herself on national television by launching a reprehensible and racist attack on Vice President Kamala Harris. Her baseless and offensive remarks, suggesting that Vice President Harris is stupid, unqualified, and a ‘DEI hire,’ are not only false but also represent the thread of racism that has become common among right-wing extremists,” a press release from the party states. “We call on Harriet Hageman to issue a full and sincere apology for her appalling behavior. Her comments are a stain on our political landscape, and she must take responsibility.”
The Democratic National Convention — where Harris is expected to become the nominee — is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Hageman told the Star-Tribune that Harris’ appointment to vice president was a follow through of a promise made by Biden.
“Joe Biden said he was going to hire a black female and that’s what he did. Take it up with him,” she said. “As far as it goes for Wyoming, Kamala Harris is anti-life, anti-oil, gas and coal, and anti-meat consumption — none of that is in line with Wyoming.”
Hageman is just one of several lawmakers who has called Harris a “DEI hire.”
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett and Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman have made similar comments regarding Harris’ race, according to media reports.
In a press release following Biden’s announcement, Hageman expressed that Democrats now face “a catastrophe of their own making” and that she is confident that any candidate put forward by the party will be “demolished by President Trump in November.”
“It has long been apparent that Joe Biden has no business running a popsicle stand, let alone the most powerful nation on Earth,” Hageman said. “His decision to withdraw from the race is the right one, but it is not the only such decision he should make: He should now resign from the presidency itself.”
