President Donald Trump and his political allies have been melting down following the selection of California Senator Kamala Harris as the running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (who will soon be the official nominee, since the Democratic National Convention is next week). Speaking in Mesa, Arizona, Vice President Mike Pence himself joined the fray on Tuesday, claiming that Harris is part of the “radical left” — which at this point seems to be a blanket term for just about anyone who the GOP disagrees with. As The New York Times notes, in reality, Biden “opted for a partner who has occupied a similar space in the center-left of the ideological spectrum — someone with whom he can most likely agree on many matters of policy.”
Pence, meanwhile, ranted:
‘As you all know, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical left. So given their promises of higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine and abortion on demand, it’s no surprise that he chose Senator Harris… You all might like to know that the vice presidential debate is on October 7 in Utah! So my message to the Democratic nominee for vice president: Congratulations. I’ll see you in Salt Lake City!’
Watch some below:
At a campaign event in Arizona, Vice Pres. Mike Pence offered his first reaction to the news that Joe Biden has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate: "Let me take this opportunity to welcome her to the race." https://t.co/c9e6nq7n4x pic.twitter.com/1HFaXsSvYY
— ABC News (@ABC) August 11, 2020
Pence is not exactly some kind of compelling public speaker. Harris, meanwhile, has a background as a prosecutor, so the debate between the two of them — which, as Pence mentioned, is set for October — doesn’t exactly seem poised to go as well for the Trump team as Pence imagines.
Valerie Jarrett, who worked in the Obama administration, suggested on MSNBC this week that claims that Harris is part of the “Radical left” aren’t exactly going to go anywhere. She commented, referring to claims like the one from Pence:
‘I don’t think it’s going to get any traction. They are flailing. They don’t know exactly how to approach this dynamic duo. And I think the American people are smarter than that.’
On the same program, Republican political strategist Steve Schmidt — who’s against Trump — suggested that the Harris-Pence debate isn’t going to go great for Pence. He said:
‘Mike Pence is going to have a very, very difficult time in the vice presidential debate. Frankly, intellectually, from an eloquence [and] articulation perspective, they’re not in the same league with each other.’
“Mike Pence is going to have a very, very difficult time in the vice presidential debate," @SteveSchmidtSES says, discussing Sen. Harris' VP candidacy. "Frankly, intellectually, from an eloquence [and] articulation perspective, they’re not in the same league with each other." pic.twitter.com/wiBIzgNOf7
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 12, 2020
Check out Twitter reactions to some of Pence’s comments below:
