Nikki Haley, Republican leader and former presidential candidate, has condemned the personal attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, urging critics to focus on her policy failures instead. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Haley said that Harris should be judged on her actions and policy decisions, rather than her race or gender.
“It’s not helpful.It’s not helpful,” Haley said emphatically. “I mean, we’re talking about a liberal senator who literally has not accomplished very much and what she was given she didn’t do much with. You don’t need to talk about what she looks like or what gender she is to talk about that. The American people are smarter than that.”
Haley’s remarks were in response to criticisms directed at Harris based on her race and gender. She argued that such attacks distract from substantive critiques of Kamala’s policies. “Talk about the fact that she doesn’t believe in fracking. Tell that to the voters in Pennsylvania,” Haley suggested. “Talk about the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about paying down debt. She wants to increase taxes. Tell that to the American people. Talk about the fact that consumer prices have gone up 19.5% since Joe and Kamala were in office,” she added.
The former South Carolina Governor and US Ambassador to the UN highlighted several policy areas where she believes Harris has failed to deliver. “Talk about the fact that she’s always sided with the Palestinian protests instead of our friend Israel. There are so many issues we can talk about when it comes to Kamala Harris. It doesn’t matter what she looks like. It matters what she said, what she’s fought for, and the lack of results that she’s had because of it,” Haley explained.
Haley also reflected on the recent political developments within the Democratic Party. She admitted that she was not surprised when incumbent President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, leading to Harris becoming the presumptive nominee. “I wasn’t surprised and I didn’t take happiness in it. Through the whole campaign, I fought for mental competency tests. I wasn’t doing it to be disrespectful. I wasn’t doing it to be mean. I was doing it because I think it’s not just Joe Biden. There is an issue that we have in DC where people will go into office and they won’t let go. And then their staffers and their family keep propping them up and it’s a problem for the American people,” she said.
Haley added that her concerns extended to Harris’s role in handling illegal immigration and the US-Mexico border. “So, I never thought he would make it to the election. I always said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris, and I think that’s what’s playing out,” Haley said.
Haley acknowledged that while the Democrats had smartly chosen a younger candidate, she believes they selected the “weakest” one possible. “You look at the fact that Kamala… she had one job. That was to deal with illegal immigration and the border. She didn’t do it. She was the most progressive Senator that we had next to Bernie Sanders. You can see it playing out, whether it’s the fact that she didn’t show up at Bibi’s speech yesterday, whether it’s the fact that she pushed for all this government spending, whether it’s the fact that when she was in California, the most liberal state, there was no tax she didn’t propose. There was nothing that she didn’t want to see,” Haley noted.
Haley critiqued Harris’s progressive stance, arguing that it places her significantly to the left of President Biden. “All of her, the things she’s doing from not wanting fracking to not wanting oil drilling, all of these things are incredibly liberal. And she is much more progressive than Joe Biden ever was. So, the fact that they put in Kamala Harris, kudos for putting in someone younger. The fact that you put in one of the most liberal politicians you probably could have put in it’s going to be an issue,” she said.
“It’s not helpful.It’s not helpful,” Haley said emphatically. “I mean, we’re talking about a liberal senator who literally has not accomplished very much and what she was given she didn’t do much with. You don’t need to talk about what she looks like or what gender she is to talk about that. The American people are smarter than that.”
Haley’s remarks were in response to criticisms directed at Harris based on her race and gender. She argued that such attacks distract from substantive critiques of Kamala’s policies. “Talk about the fact that she doesn’t believe in fracking. Tell that to the voters in Pennsylvania,” Haley suggested. “Talk about the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about paying down debt. She wants to increase taxes. Tell that to the American people. Talk about the fact that consumer prices have gone up 19.5% since Joe and Kamala were in office,” she added.
The former South Carolina Governor and US Ambassador to the UN highlighted several policy areas where she believes Harris has failed to deliver. “Talk about the fact that she’s always sided with the Palestinian protests instead of our friend Israel. There are so many issues we can talk about when it comes to Kamala Harris. It doesn’t matter what she looks like. It matters what she said, what she’s fought for, and the lack of results that she’s had because of it,” Haley explained.
Haley also reflected on the recent political developments within the Democratic Party. She admitted that she was not surprised when incumbent President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, leading to Harris becoming the presumptive nominee. “I wasn’t surprised and I didn’t take happiness in it. Through the whole campaign, I fought for mental competency tests. I wasn’t doing it to be disrespectful. I wasn’t doing it to be mean. I was doing it because I think it’s not just Joe Biden. There is an issue that we have in DC where people will go into office and they won’t let go. And then their staffers and their family keep propping them up and it’s a problem for the American people,” she said.
Haley added that her concerns extended to Harris’s role in handling illegal immigration and the US-Mexico border. “So, I never thought he would make it to the election. I always said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris, and I think that’s what’s playing out,” Haley said.
Haley acknowledged that while the Democrats had smartly chosen a younger candidate, she believes they selected the “weakest” one possible. “You look at the fact that Kamala… she had one job. That was to deal with illegal immigration and the border. She didn’t do it. She was the most progressive Senator that we had next to Bernie Sanders. You can see it playing out, whether it’s the fact that she didn’t show up at Bibi’s speech yesterday, whether it’s the fact that she pushed for all this government spending, whether it’s the fact that when she was in California, the most liberal state, there was no tax she didn’t propose. There was nothing that she didn’t want to see,” Haley noted.
Haley critiqued Harris’s progressive stance, arguing that it places her significantly to the left of President Biden. “All of her, the things she’s doing from not wanting fracking to not wanting oil drilling, all of these things are incredibly liberal. And she is much more progressive than Joe Biden ever was. So, the fact that they put in Kamala Harris, kudos for putting in someone younger. The fact that you put in one of the most liberal politicians you probably could have put in it’s going to be an issue,” she said.