Trump Calls Harris 'Lazy as Hell', Spokesperson Denies Insult has Racial Connotations

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a stop at a campaign event in Florida to court Latino voters as the elections continue to approach. The event was yet a new occasion for local leaders to publicly express their support for the former president, who in this case was showered with religious gifts from Evangelical figures.

The occasion also made waves for the way Trump has ramped up his attacks on Democratic candidate and current vice president Kamala Harris, questioning her work ethic and calling her "lazy" for not holding a campaign event on the same day:

"She's off [the campaign trail today]? I can't get over it. Who the hell takes off when you have 14 days left She's lazy as hell. She's got that reputation"

Later on inthe day, at an event in North Carolina, Trump again went after Harris by labelling her a "stupid person" and going on to ask: "does she drink? Is she on drugs?" The vice president spent Tuesday in meetings in Washington, D.C. and was scheduled to sit for recorded interviews with Telemundo and NBC to air Tuesday evening, as The LA Times reports.

The laziness remarks went viral, as some media outlets like the aforementioned Times and the Associated Press pointed out that the insult has traditionally been "used to demean Black people in racist terms."

As the LA Times points out, the term "lazy" evokes racist tropes that paint Black Americans as lacking a work ethic and being unsophisticated, submissive or inept. The outlet cites the National Museum of African American History and Culture to explain the historical background:

"The stereotype had a purpose and was used to help commodify black bodies and justify the business of slavery. Yet laziness, as well as characteristics of submissiveness, backwardness, lewdness, treachery, and dishonesty, historically became stereotypes assigned to African Americans"

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung clarified that the former president's criticisms had "nothing to do with her race or gender" and were simply aimed at the fact that "she has no respect for the American people and takes voters for granted," as AP reports.

This marks a continuation of Trump's pattern of questioning the work ethic and competence of his political opponents. Throughout his career, he has often used such attacks, as seen in his previous campaigns where he labeled Joe Biden as campaigning from "his basement" and called Hillary Clinton physically weak.

In the case of Harris, who is Black and of South Asian descent, the rhetoric has been intertwined with racial undertones as he has suggested that she misled voters about her race. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black," he said in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago back in July.

In fact, among his others comments on Tuesday, he implied that Harris became the Democratic nominee because of her race and gender: "she's running because they want to be politically correct."