Trump Allies Unleash Attacks on Gender and Identity

Washington Post: “The lightning-fast spread of the attack line in the day after Trump’s remarks showcased both his continued willingness to weaponize race and gender fissures to cut down political opponents, and the ready-made echo chamber primed to amplify attacks rooted in identity.”

“It seemed to herald a new and vitriolic phase of the 2024 campaign even as it reflects a familiar pattern. Trump, suddenly facing a Black woman, is leaning into his ugliest political instincts and finding the conservative ecosphere willing to go along. More than a decade after he began baselessly questioning the birthplace of the country’s first Black president, Trump has helped to normalize such offensive attacks — and a dwindling minority in his party appear willing to publicly challenge his most outrageous statements.”

“But beneath the base attacks, there is also a political calculus — and political peril — in both Trump’s words and Harris’s responses.”