WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Joe Biden has chosen California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. It’s a move that fulfills the wish of Democrats clamoring to see a woman of color on a major party’s presidential ticket for the first time in history.
As you might imagine, it didn’t take long for Republicans to weigh in on the announcement beginning with a video shared by President Donald Trump on Twitter.
“Voters rejected Harris,” a narrator in the video reads. “They smartly spotted a phony. But not Joe Biden. He’s not that smart.”
The 30-second spot from the Trump Campaign labeled the Democratic duo “Perfect together. Wrong for America.”
The 55-year-old Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving as California’s attorney general. Harris competed against Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination but left the race before voting began as she struggled to raise money.
“Joe Biden’s decision to choose Kamala Harris as his VP shows just how far he’ll go to appease the radical left,” said Republican National Committee co-chair Tommy Hicks in a tweet. “Together, these two will implement big gov socialist policies that will destroy our great country.”
“Kamala Harris’ extreme positions, from raising taxes to abolishing private health insurance to comparing law enforcement officials to the KKK, show that the left-wing mob is controlling Joe Biden’s candidacy, just like they would control him as president,” tweeted Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.
Harris recently got into a war of words with Republican Senator John Cornyn over a GOP-backed bill on police reform. The proposal would have incentivized police departments to ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants but did not formally ban the practices.
Cornyn pushed Harris on why she wanted negotiations on the reform before taking it to the floor for a vote. The Texas Republican said Harris preferred to “have these negotiations occur behind closed doors.”
“Don’t you think that sort of interaction and debate and negotiation out in front of all 330 million Americans would be beneficial to healing our country and coming to some consensus about what the appropriate reforms should be?” said Cornyn.
“Indeed. That is the beauty of the judiciary committee,” replied Harris. “Our meetings are public meetings.”
The exchange went viral amassing 4 million views.
Vanity Fair recently spoke with a veteran Republican political consultant who labeled Harris as “dangerous” for the GOP.
“Maybe the most dangerous, from our view,” the consultant who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. “She theoretically would do very well with African American turnout.”
While Harris is largely popular with Democrats, she’s had her share of challenges. Ed Rendell, a former Democratic Party chair and a Biden ally, recently told CNN Harris can “rub people the wrong way.”
Politico recently reported that former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, the co-chair of Biden’s vetting committee, was concerned that Harris, a former presidential candidate, was not sufficiently regretful about attacking Biden during a primary debate. Others have criticized Harris, who is considered a top prospect, as too ambitious.
