Susan Rice slams Republicans' DEI remarks on Kamala Harris, calls it extremely offensive and dehumanizing

WASHINGTON, DC: Susan Rice has strongly condemned the suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris is accepted as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee solely because of her diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) considerations.

Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday, July 23, the former White House adviser said, “That’s extremely offensive and dehumanizing."

Republicans' DEI comments on Kamala Harris sparks controversy

Rice's criticism came in response to recent statements from Representative Tim Burchett (R-Tenn) and Representative Glenn Grothman (R-Wis) who commented on the nomination of Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent.

Burchett called the vice president a "DEI hire" while Grothman stated that Democrats feel obligated to support Harris due to her "ethnic background" after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.

However, some Republicans have warned their fellow GOP members to refrain from using the DEI remarks.

Rice pointed out that women, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities or veterans, and religious minorities frequently face similar attacks.

The former White House adviser, who has served in the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations, said calling Harris out for her gender and race represents an issue that affects many Americans.

She criticized the messaging from Republicans that suggests individuals from these groups “achieved success, rose to a position of leadership, you didn’t deserve it."

"You didn’t get there on merit. You got there because you got some unfair advantage. That is incredibly insulting to the vast majority of Americans who fall into all of those categories,” she added.

Susan Rice doubles down on how inclusion is at stake

Rice further argued the DEI-related rhetoric shows the deeper ideological issues and is “emblematic of what this race is really all about.”

“It’s a race about whether we are going to move into the future as a democracy, where every American has the opportunity to vote to have their voice heard, to have a chance to make themselves a success or whether we’re going backward to Donald Trump and JD Vance and their Project 2025 vision of an America,” she shared.

She reiterated that the DEI criticism against Harris is not reflective of the true American values as she emphasized the importance of merit and opportunity for all Americans, regardless of their background.

“And that’s what they’re saying with this DEI thing that if you’re somebody who is not a white Christian man, then you didn’t get where you got because you deserved it. That’s not the America who we are," said Rice, according to The Hill.