Republicans Slam VP for Giving Reporters Kamala Harris Cookies — Which Were Gift From a Black-Owned Bakery

Tommy ChristopherJun 8th, 2021, 8:21 am
 

Courtney Subramanian/White House pool

Republicans attacked Vice President Kamala Harris after she gave reporters cookies — featuring her own likeness and that of Air Force Two — that were given to her by a Black-owned Washington, DC bakery.

USA Today White House correspondent Courtney Subramanian is a pool reporter on VP Harris’ current overseas trip, and tweeted a photo of one of the cookies along with the caption “@vp made an OTR visit to the back of the plane and delivered cookies decorated with the shape of her likeness as well as AF2.”

Republicans, including RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and CNN commentator Scott Jennings, pounced on the gesture. Some pointed to it as a sign of “narccicism” and worse, even implying that the veep has a Christ complex. One commentator called it “extremely disturbing behavior.” OTher complained that it was a poor use of “tax dollars.”

And some reactions from verified conservatives — including Trump aides — contained blatantly misogynistic and pornographic insinuations.

But according to Subramanian’s pool report, the cookies were a gift from a local Black-owned bakery:

VPOTUS came to the back of the plane and spoke to press OTR for five minutes. She delivered cookies decorated with the shape of her likeness as well as of Air Force Two. The cookies were provided by Cupcake Dreams, a black-owned business in Washington, DC. The bakery owner’s name is Aleatra Dimitrijevski.

The background that Subramanian provided was slightly errant — the bakery owned by Aleatra Jones-Dimitrijevski is called “Cake-Wich Craft,” and they run a scholarship drive called “Cupcake Dreams.”

The bakery makes custom treats, some of which can be seen on Jones-Dimitrijevski’s Instagram.

So the cookies were a gift to the first Black woman vice president from a Black woman entrepreneur, and were not, in fact, a taxpayer-funded vanity exercise. The cookies themselves appear to be a tribute to the VP’s iconic place in history, which makes her an inspirational figure to many — but obviously not to everyone.

That background information — most of which was readily available in a publicly available pool report — might have changed some of the criticisms had Subramanian included it in her tweet, but perhaps not others.

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