Former President Donald Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, privately admitted that Kamala Harris' presumptive Democratic nomination is a “political sucker punch” to the Trump campaign, The Washington Post reported.
Ahead of a rally in Minnesota on Saturday, Vance privately told GOP donors that Harris presents a unique challenge to the Republican Party, despite the Trump campaign exuding confidence since President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race on July 21.
“All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,” Vance told donors at a fundraiser. “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did,” Vance said.
Whereas the public knew Biden’s weaknesses, Vance said Harris is less known so the GOP would have to shape people’s views of her.
"Love ’em or hate ’em, everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the past eight years. But Kamala Harris, people don’t really know,” he told donors.
Despite these admissions, Vance has previously told reporters that Harris’ presumptive nomination doesn’t change the presidential race.
“We were running against Joe Biden’s open border, Kamala Harris’s open border. Kamala Harris supported the green new scam. Kamala Harris, frankly, covered Joe Biden even though it was obvious he was mentally incompetent for a very long time,” Vance told reporters on July 22, according to The Post.
In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday, Trump said Harris was an “even worse candidate'' than Biden because of her “radical left” policies.
The entire Trump campaign has doubled down on this message, pointing to Harris’ flaws and remaining steadfast that she is a weak candidate.
“Poll after poll shows President Trump leading Kamala Harris as voters become aware of her weak, failed and dangerously liberal agenda. Her far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden, particularly in the key swing states that will decide this election like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” said Vance spokesperson Will Martin in a statement to The Post on Monday.
In a New York Times/Sienna College poll from July 25, Trump currently leads Harris by one percentage point. He previously led Biden by six percentage points, before the president withdrew from November’s presidential race.
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