It’s never a good thing when the moderator of a candidate’s event makes more news than the candidate himself — which is exactly what Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders did at a town hall event for former President Donald Trump in Michigan earlier this week.
In what looks like an attempt to appeal to women voters, the Trump team decided to deploy Sanders as a surrogate. But that seems to have backfired. During her introduction of Trump, Sanders talked about her children and how they keep her humble. She then added, “Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
There’s something more vicious in Sanders’ comments, which seek to stigmatize a fellow woman in politics.
At first blush, it’s easy to write off her words as another misstep that was poorly thought through from the Trump camp. And didn’t Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, do enough damage with his comments about “childless cat ladies” already? But it appears there’s something more vicious in Sanders’ comments, which seek to stigmatize a fellow woman in politics.
Knowing that Vice President Kamala Harris has two stepchildren who call her “Momala,” Sanders clearly meant it as a slight against Harris, personally, for not having biological children. The cruelty in this line should not be overlooked.
Nor should the political strategy. Sanders is no political novice. Before being elected the governor of Arkansas, she served two years as White House press secretary for Trump. There, according to her official website, she was “a trusted confidant of the President, she advised him on everything from press and communications strategy to personnel and policy.” By all accounts, Sanders is a seasoned professional and knows what Trump likes to hear — and also how to provide cover for him, which is why neither she nor the campaign should get a pass for remarks like those she delivered in Michigan.
Further, Sanders knows that Trump loves to use false characterizations, and sometimes nicknames, to attack his opponents. The problem for Trump is that nothing is sticking to Harris, which is why he often resorts to imposing an “us vs. them” narrative.
And Tuesday, Sanders sought to modify that narrative into an equally ugly one: “She’s not like us,” suggesting that because Harris doesn’t have her own biological children, she’s an other, and should be reviled for it.
Trump’s campaign has often thrived off the most vile, controversial figures. It seems he will never turn away an endorsement, no matter how repugnant, if he thinks it will get him a couple of votes. In 2016, he would not disavow or condemn the endorsement of Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, claiming, “I don’t know anything about David Duke.”
Fast forward to 2024, and we see Trump palling around with the far-right, racist, hate spewing, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, shocking even some of his closest allies with the very public association. But, she does have a huge following, albeit among the most homophobic, bigoted haters on the internet — so it’s no surprise if Trump sees her as an asset.
Sanders’ comments have been ridiculed in the media and even condemned by Bryan Lanza, a senior campaign adviser to the Trump campaign, who said, “I found that comment to be actually offensive. I don’t know what more to say about that.” Of course, Trump himself consistently uses identity as a means for division; Sanders just took it to another level.
Ironically, Sanders was probably chosen to moderate the event because Trump is facing a tremendous, perhaps historic, gender gap with women. Trump is desperate for female surrogates. But with friends such as Sanders and Loomer, perhaps Trump should just go it alone. He certainly can’t do much worse. Then again, he’s Donald Trump.
