Sen. Kamala Harris, the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee, invoked late Sen. John McCain Wednesday during a campaign swing through his adopted state of Arizona, kicking off her comments by saying she wanted to “start with a little straight talk” about President Trump and his failed response to the coronavirus.
“First of all, in the spirit of the late great John McCain, I was thinking let’s start with a little straight talk,” she said, alluding to the 2008 GOP presidential nominee’s campaign motto. “You know there has been some talk about my values. Let me just tell you Tucson, I am a proud patriotic American. I love my country.”
“Our values reflect the values of American,” she said. “Our values tell us we have witnessed the worst, the biggest disaster of any presidential administration in the history of this country.”
Ms. Harris is looking to bolster Mr. Biden’s chances of flipping Arizona into the Democratic column for the first time since 1996.
Mr. Trump trails Mr. Biden by 2-points, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls.
The Harris attack served as a reminder of the rocky relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. McCain.
Mr. Trump mocked the idea during the 2016 presidential race that Mr. McCain was a military hero after he was shot down in the Vietnam War and held for more than five years at the “Hanoi Hilton” as a prisoner of war.
Mr. McCain, meanwhile, delivered what amounted to a death blow against the GOP’s legislative push to repeal Obamacare when he returned to Washington after being diagnosed with cancer to give a “’thumbs down’ vote against the repeal push.
Last month, Mr. McCain’s widow Cindy McCain endorsed Mr. Biden.
On Wednesday, Ms. Harris also said Mr. Trump has sympathized with white nationalists and far-right groups, and she chastised the president for disparaging Mexicans and singling out Muslims as part of a travel ban.
“This is a real choice in this election because Joe Biden and I understand America deserves so much more,” she said. “We want a leader who is not about trying to sow hate and division. We know that the real strength of any human being is not based on who you beat down, it is based on who you lift up.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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