Sen. J.D. Vance said Kamala Harris showed her true colors Tuesday when she said she would not change anything from President Biden’s term in office.
Ms. Harris, when asked on ABC’s “The View” what she would have done differently from Mr. Biden, said, “Not a thing that comes to mind.”
Mr. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, told a campaign rally in Detroit that no matter how hard she tries, Ms. Harris cannot separate herself from the 81-year-old Mr. Biden, who has low approval ratings.
“Kamala Harris’s entire campaign is to pretend that she hasn’t been the vice president for the last three-and-a-half years,” the Ohio senator said. “The big difference is that Donald Trump has a record to be proud of, and Kamala Harris has a record to be ashamed of.
“When President Trump stands before a crowd, he doesn’t try to pretend that he wasn’t president, but she tries to pretend she was vice president,” he said.
Mr. Vance mocked Ms. Harris over her response, questioning how she was not better prepared to answer the question.
“In her defense, I don’t think she can think of anything off the top of her head, whether it be Joe Biden’s policies or anything else,” he said.
Mr. Trump and Republicans see Mr. Biden as an anchor around the neck of Ms. Harris and Democrats.
The Trump campaign circulated the clip of Ms. Harris’ appearance on “The View” and blasted out a link to polls showing that over 60% of voters say the nation is on the wrong track.
Yet, Mr. Trump needs help to shake Ms. Harris. According to polls, they are running neck-and-neck in Michigan and several battleground states.
Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Vance as his running mate partly to deploy him to the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which have backed Democrats in most presidential races.
The most recent exception came in 2016 when Mr. Trump carried the three states over Hillary Clinton to win the White House.
Mr. Biden flipped the states back into the Democratic column in 2020.
On Tuesday, Mr. Vance said the city’s auto industry has suffered with Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris calling the shots.
“I promise you that when Donald Trump is back in the White House, auto workers in the city of Detroit are going to have an ally, once again, not somebody who’s trying to destroy their jobs like Kamala Harris, but it’s going to fight for their jobs every single day,” Mr. Vance said.
Mr. Vance also blamed the Biden-Harris administration for inflation, which he said has fed the rising costs of groceries, gas, and homes. He said the flow of illegal immigrants that have come into the country in the last four years also has made the situation worse and increased the nation’s drug problem.
“So for anybody watching at home, just ask yourself the very basic question,” Mr. Vance said. “Kamala Harris has been in charge for four years. Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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