FIGHTING DIRTY

Trump Spokesperson Makes Racially Loaded Claim That Harris’ Plane Smells

Harris has Indian and Black heritage, and Cheung’s post appears to lean into racial stereotypes.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung rushed to defend JD Vance for bizarrely storming Air Force 2 to unsuccessfully confront Kamala Harris Wednesday evening with an unsavory comment regarding the smell of the plane.

“Make sure AF2 is deep cleaned because Lord only knows what @KamalaHarris and her team have done on there,” Cheung wrote on X. “The smell alone on that plane must be crazy.”

Harris is the first vice president of Indian and Black heritage, and has gained a reputation as a foodie through her series Cooking with Kamala. She once appeared in a video with Indian actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, where they cooked Masala Dosa, a traditional dish with fermented rice.

Cheung’s post appears to lean into racial stereotypes and some X users have commented that his remarks are a racist dog-whistle meant to indicate that she smells because of one or both of her heritages.

He declined to comment on whether his post plays into racial stereotypes, but reminded the Daily Beast that he is a minority himself. Cheung is Asian-American, born to parents who immigrated from China.

“After 4 years of use criss-crossing the globe, you’d think a deep clean would be customary for any new administration,” Cheung told the Daily Beast.

It’s also possible that Chueng was referring to the smell of cannabis, which Harris has joked about smoking in her youth.

“Half my family is from Jamaica, are you kidding me?” she joked during an interview in 2019 when asked whether she had ever used the drug. The remark did not sit well with her father, Donald Harris, who later said that he wished to “categorically dissociate” himself from the comment.

The comments come after days of the Trump campaign repeatedly questioning Harris’ race.

At the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago last week, Trump boldly—and incorrectly—claimed Harris “turned Black,” and questioned, “Is she Indian or is she Black?”

Vance subsequently described the outrage over the comments as “hysterical,” while blaming the media for “overreacting.”

The spokesman’s comments came shortly after Vance attempted to breach Harris’ plane after the two politicians touched down for dueling campaign stops in Wisconsin.

Vance briskly marched up to Air Force 2 but quickly realized Harris was not there.

“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance told campaign reporters gathered on the tarmac in Wisconsin. He asked the gathered media if they wanted to hear why Harris has refused to speak to reporters recently, but was met with silence.

Soon after the attempted altercation, the Harris campaign released a video set to a popular TikTok audio seemingly intended to diss Vance and poke fun her rival.