Donald Trump takes Kamala Harris’ father out of context, accuses her of being a ‘Marxist’

The first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was heated, and many unfounded accusations have been made. Amidst the debate, Trump accused Harris of being a Marxist.

His allegation in particular was, “She’s a Marxist. Everyone knows she’s a Marxist. Her father is a professor in economics. He taught her well.” Blink twice if you must. As someone who majored in Political Economy, that statement didn’t register in my head. Donald Trump made me question four years of my college education.

It’s no wonder Kamala Harris laughed the comment off. Is there any semblance of truth to Donald Trump’s wild statement?

Who is Donald Harris?

Kamala Harris’ father, Donald, is a retired Stanford economics professor. Aside from his tenure in teaching, Donald Harris also served as the economic advisor of Jamaica under multiple prime ministers. The idea that Donald Harris is involved in Kamala’s political career, however, is unfounded. No matter what her father’s beliefs actually are, the reality is a far cry from Trump’s accusation that Donald Harris “coached” his daughter about economics.

In his book, titled Capitalist Accumulation and Theories of Growth, Donald Harris analyzed the theories of accumulation and income distribution. Donald Harris frequently referenced Marx, especially when analyzing the link between savings, income distribution, and social class. Using Marxist ideas to critique modern economics, however, does not automatically classify any person in academia as Marxist—not to mention the racist dog whistle involved here.

If anything, Donald Harris merely contributed to the growing field of development studies. The Stanford Department of Economics claims that Donald Harris was “a leader in developing the new program ‘Alternative Approaches to Economic Analysis’ as a field of graduate study.”