Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with POLITICO to outline her plan to take on presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's future running mate in the upcoming vice presidential debate, which has yet to be officially planned. Harris' readiness to debate comes after reports revealed that the Trump campaign has begun to narrow the potential vice presidential candidates for the Republican ticket.
"What we know is that Donald Trump wants an enabler," Harris claimed. "He doesn't want a governing partner. He doesn't want another Mike Pence, and I think that is clear. 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?"
The vice president also revealed that the Democrat strategy to handle whoever Trump chooses as his running mate would be to tie the two together as much as possible to prevent the GOP vice presidential pick from appealing to different voters. Harris also outlined that the Democrats will be using abortion as a main talking point in the November election after multiple states have passed abortion bans following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
"Everyone on that list has supported a Trump abortion ban in their state or has called for a national ban," Harris told the outlet. "In fact, many voted this week in the Senate against the right to contraception. That's how far down the road they are."
Biden's running mate explained that she's ready to take on any of the potential candidates in a one-on-one vice presidential debate that could take place as soon as July. "I'm planning on being at the CBS studios … in either July or August," she said. And let's see if the other side shows up. I'm ready to make the case—whoever he picks, no matter who it is."
As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, the Trump campaign has begun to request personal information from vice presidential contenders. The vetting requests have been sent to Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Each one of the candidates sent vetting materials has been a strong advocate for Trump on the campaign trail, with many of them participating in fundraisers or appearing on national television to rally support for the 45th president.
While the 45th president's search has narrowed to eight candidates, several sources told NBC News that the race is really down to a top four. According to sources close to Team Trump, the campaign has narrowed down the top contenders to Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND), Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). Irrespective of who Trump chooses as his running mate, the vice presidential debate will surely be worth watching as Harris attempts to defend her record and Biden's disasterous America Last policies.
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