Republicans are seizing on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ new book, 107 Days — a reference to the length of her abbreviated campaign following President Joe Biden’s delayed exit from the race — to accuse Democrats of prioritizing identity politics over merit.
In the book, Harris reveals that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her preferred running mate in last year’s presidential election, but she ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, citing concerns about how voters might respond to a ticket featuring both a Black woman and a gay man.
“We were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk,” Harris wrote, showing her aversion to taking political risks.
Buttigieg has since responded to Harris’ comments, saying he believes in “giving Americans more credit.”
“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg said.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz seized on Harris’ remarks during his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, claiming her rationale for passing over Buttigieg proves that Democrats are obsessed with identity politics.
“Democrats are at their core racist,” Cruz said. “They are at their core deeply bigoted.”
Cruz argued that voters would not reject Harris because of her race or marriage, but might oppose her over Biden-era immigration policies and rising inflation.
“She says Pete would be an ideal partner,” said Cruz. “That’s who she wanted to pick, and the singular reason she did not is he is gay. If he were straight, she doesn’t explicitly say it, but she pretty clearly suggests he would have been her pick. She’s quite open about saying, Nope, for her, being gay was disqualifying.”
Cruz is not the only Republican accusing Harris of bigotry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a gay man, criticized her running-mate selection criteria in an interview on Fox Business.
“First [it] shows her emphasis on identity politics and the American people moved on,” Bessent told anchor Maria Bartiromo. “Two, it shows how low regard she holds the American people. She was just a terrible candidate.”
Bessent also dismissed Buttigieg as a poor choice, pointing to current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s claims that many of the administration’s transportation problems were inherited from Buttigieg, his predecessor.
“You wouldn’t pick Pete Buttigieg because he might have been the worst transportation secretary in history,” Bessent said. “I can tell you, your friend, my friend, Sean Duffy is a great Transportation Secretary. Pete Buttigieg left him a mess, the FAA is a disaster, Amtrak — anything to do with transportation was woefully neglected over the past four years.”
He then turned back to Harris. “So, she judges him on identity, his sexuality. Let’s look and see whether he did a good job, let’s look on merit, and I can tell you [that] on merits [Buttigieg is] a failure, and on merits she is a failure.”
In March 2022, Justine Lindsay made history as the NFL’s first openly transgender cheerleader. Three seasons later, the Carolina Panthers TopCat is stepping away from the squad to pursue pageantry and community outreach.
In a statement to Outsports, Lindsay said she wanted to grow beyond the sidelines, striving to be “recognized not just as an NFL cheerleader, but as someone making a positive impact, especially during these uncertain times.”
The announcement marks a reversal, as some news outlets had previously reported she would return for the 2025–2026 season.
Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, recently aired a digital ad attacking Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for backing the state’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum standards. Established under a 2019 law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), the standards require middle and high school students to learn about the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
The premise behind the law is based on the belief that teaching students about figures like Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Alan Turing helps reduce bullying of LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming peers.
California Democrat says House Oversight Chair James Comer made a "homophobic" remark after Democrats challenged his handling of the Epstein investigation.
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, fired back at Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) after Comer dismissed him as a "real big drama queen."
Comer's jab came after Democrats released a sexually suggestive letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The letter, featuring a drawing of a curvaceous woman used as the backdrop for birthday wishes, was allegedly signed by Donald Trump and included in a 2003 album celebrating Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump had been friendly with Epstein during the 1980s and 1990s.
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