All The Ways Trump Says Harris Is Radical, And Radicals Say She’s Not

TOPLINE

President Trump and his allies are trying to paint Joe Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as a radical, even as progressives complain she’s not progressive enough, a sign of the middle ground Harris occupies in the Democratic Party, and how Trump may struggle to define her down the stretch. 

KEY FACTS

Just hours after Harris was named Biden’s running mate, Trump asserted during a press conference that Harris is “very big into raising taxes and is “about the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate.”

A Trump campaign fundraising email sent to supporters on Wednesday said Harris “embraced Bernie Sanders plan for socialized medicine” while a Trump campaign ad released minutes after Biden’s announcement said Harris called for “trillions in new taxes” during her run for president.

The Trump campaign distributed talking points on Harris to Republicans on Thursday that called for hitting the California senator for supporting “open borders,” her position on fracking, and for being “pro-abortion, anti-Catholic” (Trump told reporters Biden was “against God” last week.)

Meanwhile, Harris also took incoming from some on the left, who zeroed in on her track record as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, just as they had during her 2020 primary run. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) former campaign press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, said on Twitter that, in Harris, Biden chose a “top cop” just as the country debates “excessive policing” in the wake of George Floyd’s death.  

The Progressive Democrats of America and RootsAction released a joint statement saying Harris had “failed for years to hold police accountable for gross misconduct in California.” 

Key background

The middle lane is familiar territory for Harris, who once called herself a “progressive prosecutor” even as the left criticized her for overseeing more than 1,900 convictions for pot offenses as San Francisco district attorney. Harris has touted her record of standing up to big banks as California attorney general, while she took heat for refusing to investigate officer-involved killings. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Harris originally supported Sanders’ Medicare for All plan before proposing her own healthcare plan that allowed for private insurance so long as it followed Medicare’s coverage regulations. Instead of backing the “defund the police” movement, she has called for “reimagining how we do public safety in America” by investing in undeserved communities, as she said on an episode of The View in June.

Surprising fact 

A GovTrack analysis found that Harris had one of the most liberal voting records of any senator in 2019. 

What to watch for

It’s been difficult for Trump and his allies to find a good line of attack for the California senator. A Trump campaign email sent out on Tuesday called Harris a “California radical who completes the left-wing takeover of Joe Biden” while a separate fundraising email sent less than a day later said that liberals were revolting against the VP pick.  

  

Crucial quote

Niki Solis, a public defender who used to work with Harris, penned an op-ed in USA Today earlier this week in which she called Harris the “most progressive” district attorney in California. 

Chief critic

“Kamala Harris is a radical liberal who would raise taxes, take away guns & health insurance, and explode the size and power of the federal gov’t,” Rep. Liz Cheney wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “She wants to recreate America in the image of what’s happening on the streets of Portland & Seattle. We won’t give her the chance.”

Further reading

Republicans Struggle To Find Consistent Line Of Attack Against Kamala Harris (Forbes)

Trump Repeatedly Calls Kamala Harris ‘Nasty’ And ‘Horrible’ In White House Briefing (Forbes)

The Big Reason Lefties Aren’t Upset About Kamala Harris (The Atlantic)


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