The Associated Press sparked backlash after saying it was “racist” for Donald Trump to call Kamala Harris “lazy.”
After an event in Miami on Tuesday aimed at Latino voters, the Republican presidential candidate took the stage and called his opponent “a deadbeat” for not holding a campaign event.
Trump, 78, later referred to the vice president as “slow” and having a “low IQ” before calling her a “stupid person” during a later rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The AP reported on Trump’s comments. in an article titled: ‘Trump lobs a series of insults at Harris, including “lazy,” a racist trope against black people.’
The outlet explained in the article that the term “lazy” has “long been used to demean Black people in racist terms,” adding that Trump has “repeatedly” questioned Harris’ “intelligence and stamina.”
The Associated Press said it was “racist” for Donald Trump to call Kamala Harris “lazy,” sparking a backlash online. (Pictured: Trump at a campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Tuesday night)
The Associated Press used this headline to describe Trump’s rally Tuesday night, stating that “lazy” has “long been used to demean black people in racist terms.”
People reacted quickly to the article online, with many attacking the news agency for its characterization.
“Now the word lazy is racist,” one critic wrote on Facebook.
“This news article is one-sided,” said another.
Meanwhile, X users offered their own explanations for how Harris is “lazy” and accused the AP of overemphasizing Trump’s statements.
‘@AP she is literally lazy. She worked only 20 hours a week while she was vice president. He (sic) staff were frustrated because they never prepared for meetings,” one user commented.
“Connecting what Trump said about her to black people is what you did and that is racist… propagandist clowns,” they added.
“Someone should tell the fake news @AP that they have worn out the racist card,” another wrote.
AP noted that ‘Trump’s comments ignored’ that Kamala Harris spent all day in meetings in Washington, ‘recording interviews with Telemundo and NBC.’ (Pictured: Harris during a moderated conversation with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney on Monday)
While many were outraged by the article, others agreed with the AP’s opinion.
“The clown says he’s never had a real job,” one user wrote about Trump.
Another Facebook user wrote: ‘He’s the racist, ask the kids in Central Park…’, referring to the Central Park Five, for whom Trump called for the death penalty over accusations that they raped and beat a jogger. white in 1989.
The five men were later found not guilty of the crime and released in 2022 based on newly discovered DNA evidence.
“He’s a pig,” wrote one X user.
After explaining that Trump criticized Harris for not holding a campaign event, AP noted that her comments ‘ignored’ that the Democratic candidate was in meetings in Washington all day, ‘recording interviews with Telemundo and NBC.’
‘Tuesday marked the first day in more than two weeks that Harris had no public events scheduled after a streak of more than 14 consecutive days of traveling to political events in pivotal states, including a three-state race on Monday, beginning in Pennsylvania and continuing. to Michigan and ending in Wisconsin,’ AP reported.
People were quick to react to the article, as many people criticized the news agency for being “one-sided.”
With less than two weeks until the 2024 election, the AP said that “Trump signaled that he will lean more toward disparaging Harris,” even though his allies “have repeatedly suggested that he should stay away from personal attacks, including references to her race and gender.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the outlet that the former president’s comments “had nothing to do with her race or gender.”
“It’s simply because he doesn’t respect the American people and takes voters for granted,” he said.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment. Ian Sams, a spokesman for Harris, told the outlet that Trump “canceled a town hall meeting Tuesday afternoon with allies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard before his evening rally in North Carolina.”
Later that night, Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, took the stage in Greensboro and announced she was joining the Republican Party.
This is not the first time the Associated Press has launched a “racist” attack on Trump, as the outlet said he has used the words “rabid” and “animal” to describe black people in the past.
This is not the first time the AP has taken a “racist” swipe at Trump, as the outlet said it has used the words ‘rabid’ and ‘animals’ to describe black people in the past.
The publication also addressed Trump’s role in the Central Park Five case, just one day after the men, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, sued the former president for using ‘false statements’. and defamatory’ about them. in his confrontation with Harris last month.
They are seeking a jury trial to determine damages in a case that once again raises tensions in a tense campaign.
“Defendant Trump falsely stated (in the debate) that Plaintiffs killed an individual and pleaded guilty to the crime,” the civil suit says.
“These statements are clearly false.”
The lawsuit says the five men “never pleaded guilty to any crime and were subsequently acquitted of any wrongdoing.”
He adds: “Furthermore, the victims of the Central Park attacks were not murdered.”
The Trump campaign called the lawsuit a “frivolous” example of “election interference.”