US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said he is “a little surprised” that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, selected Kamala Harris as his running mate.
Trump told reporters at a White House briefing last night that Harris “was very disrespectful to Joe Biden” during the Democratic primaries, and said “it’s hard to pick somebody that’s that disrespectful”.
He also noted that Harris ”did very poorly” when she ran for her party’s presidential nomination, she dropped out in December, adding: “That’s like a poll.”
Trump is trying to paint Harris as too-far left, claiming she wants to raise taxes, slash funds for the military and ban fracking.
He also noted her tough questioning of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing, calling her “the meanest, the most horrible, the most disrespectful of anybody in the US Senate”.
Trump said: “She was my No. 1 draft pick and we’ll see how she works out.”
Biden’s campaign announced his decision to pick Harris as his running mate earlier yesterday.
The president last month said she would be “a fine choice”.
Biden’s pick of Harris drew ringing endorsements from other quarters — including from Barack Obama.
“She is more than prepared for the job,” tweeted Trump’s predecessor. “This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.”
Trailblazer
Harris has been a barrier-breaker for much of her career.
Her parents were immigrants to the United States — her father from Jamaica, her mother from India. She was the first black woman elected as California’s attorney general, and only the second black woman, and first person of South Asian heritage, to serve in the US Senate.
Biden’s team stated that the two Democrats will deliver remarks today in Wilmington, Delaware as they kick off their joint campaign.
Next week the party convenes its Democratic National Convention — largely online due to the coronavirus pandemic — when Biden and Harris will both deliver acceptance speeches.
Contains reporting from © AFP 2020
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