Fox News commentator Brit Hume blasts Kamala Harris as ‘politically very stupid’ over voter ID row

A Fox News commentator has blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘politically very stupid’ after she argued against voter ID laws, including those in some states that require a photocopy of ID to vote by mail.

Harris suggested people who live in rural areas aren not able to make photocopies because they don’t have a Kinkos or OfficeMax nearby, in an interview with BET News on Friday.

Brit Hume slammed Harris, telling viewers the VP was ‘trying to label Republicans as people who want to suppress the vote’.   

He admitted the issue of voter I.D. is ‘tricky’ but blasted Harris for trying to ‘make the most’ of a fragile argument against it.   

‘A number of the things that the Republicans want to do in the laws they are passing across the country are things that are popular’, he said. ‘Voter I.D. is very high on that list’.  

In a final dig at Harris, Hume claimed President Joe Biden’s aides were probably considering whether it would be effective to continue allowing the VP to take lead on controversial issues. 

‘There are obviously people in the Biden White House who kinda wonder whether having Kamala Harris out front on a lot of these issues has turned out to be a very good move. She seems a times lighter than air,’ he said on Fox News.

Fox News commentator Brit Hume has blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘politically very stupid’ after she argued against voter ID laws

Harris said in the interview: ‘I don’t think that we should underestimate what that [compromise on voter ID laws] could mean, 

‘Because in some people’s mind, that means you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove who you are. 

‘Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t – there’s no Kinkos, there’s no OfficeMax near them,’ she said.

‘Of course people have to prove who they are,’ Harris said, but ‘not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are.’   

The GOP has long been pro-voter ID, while Democrats have been against, over concerns it could burden poor or urban voters, who’d be less likely to have a driver’s license.

Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism after suggesting that people who live in rural areas aren't able to make photocopies because they don't have a Kinkos or OfficeMax

Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism after suggesting that people who live in rural areas aren’t able to make photocopies because they don’t have a Kinkos or OfficeMax

The remarks drew mockery from some on Twitter, who said that they were able to make photocopies despite living in rural areas. 

‘I live on top of a mountain on the WV/VA border and I can photocopy my ID. I mean I do it while moonshining White Lightning while dueling banjos play in the background but I can still do it,’ one person tweeted. 

‘I grew up in a rural community without an OfficeMax or a Kinkos and I managed to successfully make photocopies of things on many occasions,’ another wrote.

Another critic called the claim ‘insulting and untrue’ and added, ‘Bottom line: Kamala, you need to start forgetting all about 2024 before the Democrats do it for you.’

Others pointed out that the Kinkos brand has not existed for 17 years, since the chain merged with FedEx.

Harris’ remarks come as Congress fiercely debates a proposal to pass a sweeping Democratic bill on elections, which would create universal mail-in voting and same-day registration in every state, among many other changes. 

Congressional Democrats are facing renewed pressure to pass their bill after a Supreme Court ruling Thursday made it harder to challenge Republican states that pass election security laws that make it harder to vote. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the ruling an ‘unprecedented assault’ that ‘greenlights the brutal, accelerating campaign of voter suppression.’

Speaking in Florida, President Joe Biden said he would have ‘much more to say’ soon, but largely sidestepped comment.

For their part, Republicans show no sign of willingness to engage with Democrats on the issue.

‘The states created the federal government, and it´s not up to Chuck or Nancy or anyone else in Washington, D.C., to tell Arizona or anyone else how they should conduct an election,’ Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who was a party in the case, said on Fox News. 

Hume also commented on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after former President Donald Trump won a straw poll of attendees of who they would like to see running for the White House in 2024.  

Hume said Trump, who delivered a speech at the event, had continued support for his policies, but not as a personality. 

‘A majority of Republicans said they would like to win with his policies. A smaller number said they would like to win with him leading the way. 

‘I think a lot of rank and file Republicans…. wouldn’t mind a bit if he went away. They could pick up his agenda and run on it [as] the Biden administration to date seems to have left them plenty of opportunities’, he said.    

‘The president, the former president outlined a lot of them in his speech on all kinds of issues, crime, immigration and on down the list. 

‘The party feels it could be a in a strong position. They’re afraid to buck him but they’re afraid he will lead them to a defeat.’ 

Hume also commented on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after former President Donald Trump (pictured, speaking at CPAC on July 11) won a straw poll of attendees of who they would like to see running for the White House in 2024

Hume also commented on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after former President Donald Trump (pictured, speaking at CPAC on July 11) won a straw poll of attendees of who they would like to see running for the White House in 2024