'He doesn’t want another Mike Pence': Kamala Harris hits Donald Trump's potential vice presidential picks
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris alleged in a new interview that former President Donald Trump wants an “enabler” for his vice president, commenting on the former president's running mate selection process as she seeks a second term alongside President Joe Biden.
“(Trump) doesn’t want a governing partner. He doesn’t want another Mike Pence, and I think that is clear,” Harris told Politico Playbook over the weekend. “The litmus test is, are they going to be absolutely loyal to Trump over country or their oath of office, or, frankly, the American people?”
USA TODAY has reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
Harris' remarks come as Trump’s campaign sent vetting documents to potential vice presidential picks, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
While Harris didn't address most of Trump's potential VP picks by name, she did criticize many of their stances on abortion restrictions.
“Everyone on that list has supported a Trump abortion ban in their state or has called for a national ban,” Harris said. “In fact, many voted... in the Senate against the right to contraception. That’s how far down the road they are.”
The Right to Contraception Act, introduced by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., sought to codify people's right to use and protect health care providers' right to distribute contraceptives. The vote required 60 votes but failed last week by a count of 51-39, with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joining Democrats in voting yes.
Trump has said he supports individual states passing their own abortion restrictions, not necessarily a national ban on the procedure.
Harris did weigh in on one potential Trump VP pick: Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who claimed Black families were “together” during the Jim Crow era during a Trump campaign event in Philadelphia last week.
“It’s sadly yet another example of somebody out of Florida trying to erase or rewrite our true history,” she said. “I went to Florida last July to call out what they were trying to do to replace our history with lies. And apparently there’s a never ending flow of that coming out of that state.”
Florida last year released new curriculum for students in the state that advised instruction on "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," Harris at the time went to Florida and decried "extremist so-called leaders" who "dare to push propaganda to our children," sparking a back-and-forth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, responded to Harris' remarks in a statement to USA TODAY, calling her the "most inept and ineffective vice president in American history," criticizing the Biden administration's handling of the southern border, economy and other issues.
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, Rachel Barber and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris hits Donald Trump's potential vice presidential picks
