Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the likely Democratic presidential nominee, MSNBC can revert back to their old trick of playing the race card. On Friday’s edition of The 11th Hour, Prof. Eeddie Glaude Jr. joined host Stephanie Ruhle’s panel to claim the election is now a choice between the forces of the future and those advocating racial “backlash.”

Ruhle wondered, “Now, for Democrats with a new candidate, and just three months to go before the election, does Kamala Harris need to lay out a specific agenda, a policy-focused agenda, or simply offer broad themes to counter Donald Trump's broad themes?”

Glaude claimed Harris needs to do both, but then added “I just want to say this really quickly, Stephanie, I think this is important. You know, we're in the middle of a kind of backlash.”

He then compared anybody who opposes liberal politicians or progressive ideas about race to those who opposed racial progress after the Civil War, “You know the backlash against George Floyd, the backlash against DEI, the backlash against critical race theory, the backlash against Barack Obama. Historically, these backlashes, they last a long time. You think about the end of Radical Reconstruction. That darkness doesn't end until Brown v. Board in 1954.”

On one hand, the media will tar and feather Republicans if they argue Harris was selected to be Joe Biden’s VP because of her race, but on the other, Glaude insisted that the election is now about something different than it was five days ago, “Why am I bringing this up? So, we're in the middle of a backlash, and now suddenly the country is facing a choice.”

He added, “So, this is really, really a momentous election. The choice is now stark, so she can give us the details of policy, but we know at the level in which the culture wars have been fought, where we are fighting. This is an existential battle.”

The media cannot continue to have it both ways. If it is racist to call Harris a DEI hire, then it is also racist to argue that the country’s moral standing on race will be decided by whether she wins or loses.

Here is a transcript for the July 26 show:

MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle

7/26/2024

11:12 PM ET

STEPHANIE RUHLE: Now, for Democrats with a new candidate, and just three months to go before the election, does Kamala Harris need to lay out a specific agenda, a policy-focused agenda, or simply offer broad themes to counter Donald Trump's broad themes?

EDDIE GLAUDE JR.: I think she needs to find a sweet spot between the two of those. You know, you don’t, you just want to taste the delicious cake. You don't want to just be given the details of the recipe, necessarily, right? But you do want to know what's in it. So I think she has to find a delicate balance here, so that folks can have substance as well as be able to digest fairly quickly the tasty part of her policy positions, right? 

So. I think that's important, but I just want to say this really quickly, Stephanie, I think this is important. You know, we're in the middle of a kind of backlash. You know the backlash against George Floyd, the backlash against DEI, the backlash against critical race theory, the backlash against Barack Obama. Historically, these backlashes, they last a long time. You think about the end of Radical Reconstruction. That darkness doesn't end until Brown v. Board in 1954. And you think about what happened in the--. Why am I bringing this up? So, we're in the middle of a backlash and now suddenly the country is facing a choice.

I think Peter put it pretty directly, you know, past/future and I think that past/future is right in front of us, right now, in the midst of this darkness. 

So, this is really, really a momentous election. The choice is now stark, so she can give us the details of policy, but we know at the level in which the culture wars have been fought, where we are fighting. This is an existential battle. So give us some cake and then give us some details.