President Trump tore into former Vice President Joe Biden's newly chosen vice presidential running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), at a White House press briefing on Tuesday, repeatedly calling her "nasty" and horrible," specifically for her treatment of Biden and Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 11: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James ... [+]
"Nasty" is a word that Trump has frequently deployed against female politicians and other public figures in the past, often to significant self-detriment. He has used the term to describe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Meghan Markle. According to Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake, Trump has publicly labelled 14 women and 16 men "nasty." Most notably, Trump referred to his erstwhile Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton as "such a nasty woman" at the final 2016 presidential debate.
"I will take him over Kamala," Trump said of Vice President Mike Pence, adding that Harris is the "meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate."
Andrew Bates, the Biden campaign's rapid response director, noted that Trump said "I think she'd be a fine choice," for vice president as recently as July. Lucy Caldwell, the former campaign manager for Trump's 2020 Republican primary opponent Joe Walsh, tweeted, "Attacking Kamala Harris on her treatment of Brett Kavanaugh is a great way to rally women voters. Keep it up, Mr. President."
Trump donated to Harris' successful campaigns for California attorney general, giving her a total of $6,000 in two donations in 2011 and 2013, in addition to the $2,000 donated by his daughter Ivanka in 2014, according to the Sacramento Bee.
62%. The 2020 election could see a historic gender gap in partisan voting, and if Caldwell is correct, Trump's comments could further damage him among a bloc with whom he is already deeply underwater. A Hill/HarrisX poll in June found that 62% of female registered voters said they were unlikely to vote for Trump, with male voters split 51% for Trump and 49% against him.
After Trump called Clinton "nasty" in 2016, the phrase was consistently used against him, emblazoned on branded merchandise and repurposed into an ironic slogan by feminists meant to empower women. The Biden campaign may opt to do something similar: Deputy Biden campaign manager Rufus Gifford t weeted that the campaign's online store "crashed" due to such high interest in Biden/Harris merchandise.
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