It’s bound to happen, sooner or later; Elizabeth Warren is going to have a Kirsten Gillibrand moment. A struggling white worker is going to appear at one of her events and ask her a loaded question about reparations and white privilege. How will she respond?
The political ramifications of her answer will be immense. On the one hand, Warren appears to buy into the entire smashmouth wokeness agenda, which thrills her left-wing base. On the other hand, she will need the votes of millions of white workers to beat Trump; arguing that poor white people should admit they’re guilty of racism and write checks to African-Americans isn’t exactly an electoral treasure trove.
Warren is very good at avoiding questions she doesn’t like. My guess is that she will label reparations a “Republican talking point” and call on white and African-American workers to unite against their common Wall Street enemies.
That will satisfy precisely no one, as reparations truly are a zero-sum game. The GOP will exploit this issue mercilessly if Warren is the nominee.