Tucker Carlson Called Kamala Harris Samoan As An Insult, And As A Samoan Woman, I’m Yelling, “WTF”
By now, you’ve probably heard all about the racist remarks at Sunday’s Madison Square Garden Trump rally. But I want to focus on one statement in particular from Tucker Carlson.
During his speech, the former Fox News talk show host said, “It’s gonna be pretty hard to look at us and say, ‘You know what? Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive as the first Samoan-Malaysian, low-IQ, former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.’ It was just a groundswell of popular support, and anyone who thinks otherwise is just a freak or a criminal.”
CSPAN / Twitter: @primediscussion
As a Samoan woman, I am absolutely livid that a political commentator would use my race as an insult. And combining it with Malaysian? Was this supposed to be funny?
It’s not okay to misidentify Kamala as Malaysian either, but I’m focusing on the Samoan aspect of his comments since I can speak to that experience.
We’re all aware of Kamala’s background: Her father is from Jamaica, and her mother is from India. Despite Trump questioning her biracial identity and infamously saying that she “happened to turn Black,” everyone knows that she’s Black and Indian. Tucker intentionally misidentified her as a Pacific Islander with a “low IQ.”
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This perpetuates the harmful stereotype that PIs aren’t as intelligent as other races. And to joke about Kamala becoming the first Samoan president is such a slap in the face when we have so little representation — both in the media and at the government level. It’s also offensive to Black and Indian folks who are so excited to finally see themselves represented in the highest office in the country.
BTW, calling Kamala “low-IQ” is just nonsense. She is a former San Francisco District Attorney, former Attorney General of California, and current Vice President. Obviously, she’s an intelligent woman.
So I’d like to ask Tucker directly: What’s so bad about being Samoan? In my experience, we are a family-focused people with great pride in our culture. Passed down for thousands of years, our beautiful traditions are still alive and well, from dance…
…and so much more! We respect our elders. We care about the land and ocean. We measure success not by your job title or what kind of car you drive but by how well you serve your family and community. What’s so bad about all that?!
Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t the only one upset by Tucker’s statement. This person called it “the second most racist thing” they’d ever heard on a US political stage:
Tucker Carlson mocking Kamala’s black-Indian heritage as “Samoan Malaysian low IQ” is probably the second most racist thing I’ve ever heard on a U.S. political stage? Second only to the joke told literally minutes before, about black people carving watermelons instead of pumpkins
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) October 29, 2024
This person asked why “people like Tucker Carlson always resort to racism”:
Why do people like Tucker Carlson always resort to racism when they don’t like people?
Kamala Harris is not Samoan or Malaysian…
Indian is a completely different ethnicity and nationality.
Completely inappropriate. https://t.co/WmMXvcR37N
— Raymond Chang (@tweetraychang) October 28, 2024
CSPAN / Twitter: @tweetraychang
Some called Tucker’s comments “anti-AAPI and anti-Black and anti-woman”…
I know the MSG focus has been on the racism of the comic who derided Latine ppl, esp Puerto Ricans. But Tucker Carlson calling Harris a Samoan-Malaysian low IQ person–and that dog whistle was definitely anti-AAPI and anti-Black and anti-woman. Too much toxicity to track
— Jennifer never Jenny sometimes Jen for friends (@DrJenHo) October 29, 2024
…while others called it a “shockingly juvenile insult”:
Tucker Carlson’s comment last night that Kamala Harris was “Samoan-Malaysian Low-IQ” needs to be unpacked.
It is a shockingly juvenile insult, the kind of thing you’d expect to hear from an inarticulate, angry ten-year old, rather than… what Tucker Carlson is. An adult?
— Ivan Moore 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇸🇬🇺🇦🏴🏳️🌈⛄️ (@IvanMoore1) October 28, 2024
This person said Tucker is trying to pull off “the racist trifecta”:
“Samoan Malaysian low IQ”
After insulting Latinos and Black people, Tucker Carlson is working hard at the pulling off the racist trifecta with the AAPI community https://t.co/j8YCO2l01K
— 🕷Dante Atkins🕷 (@DanteAtkins) October 27, 2024
CPSAN / Twitter: @DanteAtkins
And finally, this person said, “If you’re a Pacific Islander, know that disdain/disgust for AAPIs is clearly a MAGA position.”
BTW, at Trump’s Nazi rally yesterday Tucker Carlson called Kamala Harris “a Samoan-Malaysian, low-IQ, former California prosecutor.” She’s neither Samoan nor Malaysian (nor low-IQ), but if you’re a Pacific Islander, know that disdain/disgust for AAPIs is clearly a MAGA position.
— tom is ridin’ with kamala & coach. 🇺🇸🥥🌴🌊 blm. (@tomabernathy) October 28, 2024
What do you think about Tucker’s statement? Let me know in the comments below.
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