"She’s a woman, she's colored": Ex-Trump official Seb Gorka calls Kamala Harris a "DEI hire"

The former Trump official joins a group of Republicans who have referred to the vice president as a diversity hire

By Marin Scotten

News Fellow

Published July 10, 2024 12:03PM (EDT)

Sebastian Gorka, former Deputy Assistant to the US President, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on February 26, 2022. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Sebastian Gorka, former Deputy Assistant to the US President, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on February 26, 2022. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Newsmax personality and former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka described Vice President Kamala Harris a “DEI hire” and “colored” in an interview on Tuesday.

In the segment, Gorka, himself accused of inflating his credentials as a terrorism expert, predicted that Biden will be forced to withdraw from the presidential race if major Democratic donors “pull the plug.”

Host Rob Schmiddt then asked if Democratic donors really think “Harris is going to do better in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania than Joe Biden would?”

Gorka responded sarcastically: “She’s a DEI hire, right? She’s a woman. She’s colored, therefore she’s got to be good.”

 “And at least her brain doesn’t literally freeze mid sentence,” he added.

The term “DEI hire” has been widely used by Republicans as a camouflaged racial slur, referring to corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. Gorka’s remarks come days after John Ulyot, another former Trump aide, made similar remarks in a Newsmax interview.

Ulyot said that Harris will likely replace Biden as the next Democratic candidate because she is a “DEI hire.” 

"She was hired because President Biden said when he was a candidate that he wanted to hire a woman to be his number two,” Ulyot told Newsmax host Sarah Williamson.

Last week, The New York Post, a right-wing tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, published an opinion piece in which writer Charles Gasparino said Harris could be the United States’ first “DEI president.” 

The comments come as pressure for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential election grows, with Harris being named his most likely replacement.


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