Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, the serial fabulist running for vice president on the Democratic ticket, has a bigoted code name for his running mate Kamala Harris. During a friendly interview with Democratic fundraiser and former comedian Jimmy Kimmel on Monday, the VP nominee confessed that Harris was listed as “My Dry Cleaner” in his phone contacts. “They told me to come up with something, and that was all I could think of,” Walz chuckled.
In fact, there is nothing funny about misogyny and racism. Walz’s “dry cleaner” code name is problematic for several reasons. Harris is running to be the first female president of the United States, but Walz’s word choice suggests that women are better suited for domestic tasks such as doing laundry or dropping off their husband’s work clothes at the dry cleaner. Hey, Tim, the 1950s called; they want their small-minded gender stereotypes back, bigot.
Harris would also be the first Asian-American president in history. Viewed in this context, it is reasonable to conclude that Walz is vehemently biased toward non-white ethnic groups. The Asian dry cleaner is a familiar trope that only a passionate racist would joke about on national television. This might explain Walz’s bizarre affinity for communist China. A devoted white supremacist with low self-esteem would presumably enjoy surrounding himself with members of an inferior race. A racist misogynist would presumably view Asian women as subservient sex objects.
Walz went on to make a sexually charged gaffe about Harris. “I plan on waking up on November 6 with Madam President,” Walz told Kimmel, who joked that perhaps the running mates “have gotten closer than we thought.”
Prior to joining ABC as a late-night personality, Kimmel was best known for wearing blackface to portray black celebrities, which is very racist.
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