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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican who represented Georgia until his 1999 retirement, was called out after he claimed Vice President Kamala Harris cannot be President because she has a "really weird laugh."
Gingrich made the remark during a Fox News appearance in which he participated in a discussion about a Washington Postanalysis of the top 10 possible Democratic 2024 presidential candidates. President Joe Biden is ranked at the top of the list, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ranked second and Vice President Harris ranked third.
Gingrich said he thinks "incumbent Presidents have enormous advantages," adding "even in Truman's case ... in a very weak position, Truman was a dominant figure in his party," referencing former President Harry Truman, whom the Post said was as unpopular then as Biden is now.
He added:
“Harris has one enormous challenge. Her laugh is really weird."
"I know it sounds petty. But as human beings go, if you watch her for a while, you just think she can't possibly be President."
"I mean, we have a President who's cognitively challenged, but to have a President who's just strange?”
“So I think new people want to merge. My personal favorite is Tom Cruise ... If Trump can come out of real estate to become President, why can't Cruise come out of Top Gun to become President?”
Harris has often been targeted by sexist critics who have questioned her capacity for leadership since she joined Biden on the campaign trail.
In October 2020, a report published by Time's Up Now, an organization founded in the wake of the #MeToo movement found a quarter of media coverage incorporated at least one racist or sexist stereotype, including the "angry Black woman" stereotype.
So pervasive have been these attacks the advocacy and legal defense group Time's Up announced a "We Have Her Back Campaign" to counter sexist, misogynoir coverage of Harris ahead of the 2020 general election.
Gingrich was widely mocked for his ignorant statement.
\u201cWhen I read the headline, I knew immediately who it was who said this. Only a man with a brain the size of a #Newt would say something as moronic as this. Smart, powerful women scare men like him. \nhttps://t.co/zTB53qcug3\u201d— Common Sense (@Common Sense) 1658173879
\u201cSo, the bar is set so high for women to become President that they should be perfect right down to the laugh!!\n\nFormer House Speaker slammed for saying Kamala Harris can\u2019t be president because she has a \u2018really weird laugh\u2019 #SmartNews https://t.co/qcmOFRYmjH\u201d— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Indy Jones - #StandWithUvalde (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Indy Jones - #StandWithUvalde) 1658171336
\u201cFormer\u00a0Republican\u00a0House Speaker\u00a0Newt Gingrich\u00a0has been slammed for saying that Vice President\u00a0Kamala Harris\u00a0can\u2019t be president because she has a \u201creally weird laugh\u201d. ? Are u kidding me \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 this is coming from a guy named "newt" like a salamander...\u201d— Nomad Jaxson (@Nomad Jaxson) 1658225854
\u201c#NewtGingrich is another Trumper grifter that must be sent to the slammer for a very long time..\nhttps://t.co/LBvIyVgsWX\u201d— Gipper 2022 (@Gipper 2022) 1658231067
\u201c\u2066@newtgingrich\u2069 has a weird HEAD, a weird NAME and more importantly a weird way of showing there\u2019s no BRAIN inside that giant head, but he got be to speaker of the house \ud83d\ude44 https://t.co/MCetJd9k2D\u201d— AR (@AR) 1658182756
\u201cThey really love attacking women. https://t.co/Ng4aJ39cPi\u201d— Bayardo Ruiz (@Bayardo Ruiz) 1658168875
\u201cA dinosaur waiting for his meteor:\nNewt Gingrich Ridicules Kamala Harris's 'Really Weird Laugh' as Reason She'll Never Be a Serious Presidential Candidate https://t.co/IjnvnhGdL5 via @mediaite\u201d— ABS (@ABS) 1658158923
\u201cWhat an arrogant, woman debasing, privileged old man.\n\n\u201cFormer\u00a0Republican\u00a0House Speaker\u00a0Newt Gingrich\u00a0has been slammed for saying that Vice President\u00a0Kamala Harris\u00a0can\u2019t be president because she has a \u201creally weird laugh\u201d.\n\nhttps://t.co/7aU9JWKEDz\u201d— KEW \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udcaa\ud83d\udd4a\ud83c\udf3b (@KEW \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udcaa\ud83d\udd4a\ud83c\udf3b) 1658195304
\u201cTHAT is the best criticism @newtgingrich can come up with?!?!?\n\nNewt Gingrich Ridicules Kamala Harris's 'Really Weird Laugh' as Reason She'll Never Be a Serious Presidential Candidate https://t.co/hLtqI9KxnY via @mediaite\u201d— Sean Graf (@Sean Graf) 1658160763
Harris has had even her smallest actions scrutinized since she took office, a sign, according to her supporters, of the culture of rampant sexism and misogyny in Washington that regularly disparages women in power.
Last year, social media users mockedThe Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet, for publishing a "breaking investigative exclusive" attempting to shame Harris for buying new cookware.
Harris had purchased cookware for Thanksgiving while in France, where she spent considerable time trying to ease tensions with French President Emmnauel Macron over an Australian submarine deal.
While there, Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, visited E. Dehillerin, a legendary culinary emporium near Les Halles. While there, she reportedly purchased a $375 serving dish, a $160 frying pan, and other accessories totaling €516, or about $580.
Shortly afterward, The Beacon published its "exclusive" criticizing the Vice President for her purchase, alleging it was bad form at a time when so many Americans are feeling the crunch of inflation.
Harris's critics have also complained about her use of wired headphones, compared her to the animated character Marge Simpson, and subjected her to "birther" rumors alleging that she was not born in the United States.