Republican Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance is chipping away at Vice President Kamala Harris’s attempts to cast herself as a law-and-order Democrat.
Speaking at the Milwaukee Police Association on Friday, Mr. Vance said Ms. Harris is selling a fantasy when she points to her history as California attorney general and district attorney of San Francisco for proof she is serious about combating crime.
“Kamala Harris is on a tour where she is trying to redefine her record as a tough-on-crime prosecutor and yet if you look at Kamala Harris’s record as a prosecutor, it is the opposite of tough on crime,” Mr. Vance said.
Mr. Vance said Ms. Harris “pursued a policy” that would soften penalties on child sex offenders and rapists.
He said her approach to border security and immigration has negatively affected communities across the country and opened the door to an influx of fentanyl that has turned “normal American teenager mistakes” into a “death sentence.”
“I think it is time for all of us to say to Kamala Harris, you want a promotion after your record as vice president. We want you to be fired,” Mr. Vance said.
Ms. Harris has touted her prosecutorial past to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump, the first ex-president convicted of felony crimes. He also was found liable in a civil case this year for sexually abusing an advice columnist.
“I’ve served as a U.S. Senator, an Attorney General, and a district attorney and courtroom prosecutor,” Ms. Harris has said. “In those roles, I took on predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, and scammers who broke the rules.
“I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said.
The message has energized Democrats who had been losing faith in President Biden’s ability to defeat Mr. Trump in the November election.
Mr. Vance’s appearance Friday in Milwaukee illustrated the Trump campaign’s attempt to undermine Ms. Harris’s framing of the race.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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