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The Republican senator has commented on Joe Biden’s replacement ‘not struggling in the same way’
JD Vance has privately admitted that Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden as the Democrat candidate was a blow to the Republican campaign.
Speaking to donors about Mr Biden’s withdrawal from the race on July 21, Donald Trump’s running mate reportedly said: “All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch.”
He added that the race has been made more difficult, owing to the age difference between Ms Harris and Mr Biden.
“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,” he said.
Mr Vance’s admission comes in stark contrast with the messaging from Donald Trump’s campaign, which has repeatedly insisted that Mr Biden’s replacement has not changed the November race.
Trump has dismissed Ms Harris as “worse than Joe”, while Jason Miller, one of Trump’s advisors, said in a recent interview: “Democrats are a bit of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. And they may have gotten rid of one problem with Joe Biden, but they’ve inherited a whole new problem with Kamala Harris.”
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Vance reportedly said that Republicans will now work to shape public opinion of Ms Harris.
“We have a very unique opportunity, but also a very unique challenge, because, let’s be honest, 10 days ago, the two candidates who were running for president, everybody had an opinion about ’em. Love ’em or hate ’em, everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the past eight years,” Mr Vance said, as reported by the Washington Post. “But Kamala Harris, people don’t really know.”
He continued to say that the Republican campaign would target Ms Harris’s past positions, such as opposing fracking, praising the “defund the police” movement and supporting decriminalisation of unauthorised border crossings.
The Harris campaign, however, has said that she will not ban fracking. Ms Harris also denounced the “defund the police” movement after becoming Mr Biden’s running mate, while the current administration opposes decriminalising border crossings.
Recent polls have indicated that Ms Harris and Trump are essentially tied, setting the stage for a tight campaign race.
Since her endorsement, Ms Harris’s election campaign has raised $200 million, signed up 170,000 new volunteers and secured support from the majority of delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
The official vote on whether she will become the party’s nominee for president will take place on August 1.
Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as Trump’s communications director during his term in office, said Mr Vance would be fired eventually.
“This will be one of the main reasons,” he said, referring to the leaked clip. “They will barely talk to one another after this.”