Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday reacted to former President Donald Trump calling her a “s—” vice president, telling the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC that “the American people deserve so much better.”
She went on to talk about the importance of the president setting a standard not only nationally, but internationally — saying Trump’s behavior “demeans the office.”
Her remarks come one day after Trump railed against Harris during a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh.
From the rally stage, the former president unleashed his usual insults against Harris, but added to the crowd, “You have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore. ‘We can’t stand you, you’re a s— vice president. Worst vice president. Kamala, you’re fired.’”
“Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right. He’s not earned the right, and that’s why he’s going to lose,” Harris told Sharpton on Sunday.
Harris was also asked during the interview about the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas who was behind the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, when about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were taken hostage into Gaza. Harris reiterated her position that the war must end and hostages need to be released, while also condemning the number of Palestinians killed.
“The number of innocent Palestinians that have been killed in Gaza, it’s really unconscionable,” Harris said. “And we have to be honest about that, and at the same time — listen, I will always stand in terms of Israel’s right to defend itself, and we need this war to end.”
She has recently condemned the “suffering of many innocent Palestinians” as “unconscionable.” More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The war has proven to be a fracturing point for progressives, some of whom are wary of supporting her.
Separately, MSNBC asked Harris about whether she sees the resistance of some men in supporting her as misogynistic, as well as her campaign’s prospects with Black men. Polling indicates a large gender gap in voter support for Harris and Trump.
Harris said that she must “earn the vote of everyone regardless of their race or gender.”
“What can be frustrating sometimes is to have journalists ask me this question as though one should assume that I would just be able to take for granted the vote of Black men,” she said. “I think that’s actually an uninformed perspective because why would Black men be any different than any other demographic of voter? They expect that you earn their vote.”
The Harris campaign has ramped up outreach to Black men in the final stretch of the campaign, unveiling an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” and making multiple media appearances with outlets that have large Black audiences.
Brennan Leach and Jesse Rodriguez contributed.
