"Make White and Male America God Again": The Psychology of Playing God Behind the Racist and Sexist Insults against Harris

To Matter, or Not to Matter, That Is the Question

From Trump’s rants of “She’s crazy” and “dumb as a rock” to Rep. Burchett’s “She was a DEI hire” to Vance’s doubling down on his dismissive “childless cat lady” comment, the insults hurled at Vice President Kamala Harris have one goal in common: to portray her as not mattering. The insults not only distort reality. They deny it. Her sanity and smarts are said not to exist, hence they should not matter. Her success and accomplishments are said not to be earned, hence they should not matter. Her womanhood and humanity are not lived the way an ultraconservative white male sees fit, hence they should not matter. Such personal attacks aim to completely invalidate her as a person and, with that, her right to power. At the same time, those who throw these annihilating putdowns inflate their own claims to power or the power of their chosen leaders to absolute levels. They are playing God, so to speak. Why would anyone do this? Let me provide a psychological explanation.