Published 21:07 IST, August 12th 2020
Trump targets Biden's running mate Kamala Harris, calls her 'opponent everyone dreams of!'
US President Donald Trump targeted Kamala Harris over the "weak" performance in Democratic primaries last year, calling her an opponent “everyone dreams of”.
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US President Donald Trump launched the expected attack on California Senator Kamala Harris after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose her as running mate for the elections scheduled in November. Trump targeted the Indian-origin Democrat over the "weak" performance in Democratic primaries last year, calling her an opponent “everyone dreams of”.
.@KamalaHarris started strong in the Democrat Primaries, and finished weak, ultimately fleeing the race with almost zero support. That’s the kind of opponent everyone dreams of!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020
The former Vice-President had pledged to choose a woman as his running mate and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests increased the possibility of the candidate being a woman of colour. Harris’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, arrived in the US from India at the age of 19 and later met Donald Harris, originally from Jamaica, during the civil rights movement.
Biden said that Harris will be the best partner for him to finally get the country back on track. He hailed Harris as “daughter of proud immigrants” urged citizens to “take action”. Former President Barack Obama lauded Biden for picking Harris as his running mate, saying his former deputy has “underscored his own judgment and character”.
'Little surprised'
The decision comes just days ahead of the virtual Democratic National Convention that would formally nominate Biden as the party’s candidate for the November 3 presidential elections. Shortly after the announcement, Trump said that he was surprised by the pick as she was "nasty" and "disrespectful" to Biden during the primary.
"I was a little surprised that he picked her," Trump told a press conference at the White House, adding that "she did very, very poorly in the primaries."
Indian-American community leader Neil Makhija had earlier said that Kamala Harris is the best bet as a running mate for Biden. Makhija, executive director of IMPACT, wrote in an Op-Ed published by CNN that Harris has the experience of immigrants as well as Black Americans. He argued that Harris running for vice-president would be historic and inspiring to Black Americans as well as millions of voters of South Asian descent.
21:06 IST, August 12th 2020