Vice President Harris’ former communications director recently said there is one Republican who would be the “greatest threat” to her vice presidency if chosen as former President Trump’s 2024 running mate.
Ashley Etienne, who served as Harris’ communications director in 2021, told CNN on Friday that she believes Ohio Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is an “incredible debater” and could present a challenge to Harris in the upcoming election.
“I think JD Vance would pose the greatest threat [to] Kamala Harris, in some respects. I mean he’s an incredible debater,” Etienne told CNN. “I think he has this quality that makes him seem palpable to that one to two percent that actually might vote or that is undecided, that will actually pay attention to the debates because most people don’t pay attention to the debates.”
Etienne, who also served as deputy assistant to President Biden after his 2020 victory, said Vance is “super smart,” “quick-witted” and could pose a threat to Harris on the debate stage.
Vice President Harris (Morry Gash/File)
“I think he’s just got a quality about him where he’s super smart and sharp and quick-witted. I just think it’s going to be a challenge to see the two of them face-to-face. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I think he’s going to be the greatest threat,” she said.
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The comment comes as Harris’ disapproval rating remains high with 55% of registered voters having an unfavorable opinion of the vice president, according to a Fox News national survey from May.
Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, speaks to the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City on May 13, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)
Vance is on Trump’s short list for vice president along with several other top Republican contenders. However, it was recently revealed that the first-term senator was one of only three from the candidate pool who had vetting documents requested from Trump’s campaign team.
Vance has shown staunch support for Trump throughout his campaign and legal woes, recently joining the former president at a Manhattan courtroom where he was eventually found guilty on 34 charges related to falsifying business records.
Fox News Digital previously reported on Vance’s Silicon Valley donor network, which could help boost Trump’s ticket if he is chosen as Trump’s VP nominee.
Vance, after serving as a Marine in the Iraq War, moved for a handful of years to San Francisco to work as a venture capitalist in the tech industry.
And Vance – the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was made into a Netflix film – two years ago won his own crowded and combustible GOP Senate primary thanks in part to Trump’s late-in-the-game endorsement.
“JD has a Rolodex of Silicon Valley contacts that very few Republican figures can get to. And he put some of those to use on behalf of [Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio Bernie] Moreno,” a source in Vance’s political orbit previously told Fox News.
Former President Trump welcomes JD Vance, then-Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, to the stage at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sept. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
Trump recently told Fox News that he has “a pretty good idea” of who his vice presidential pick will be, an announcement that he confirmed could be made at the Republican National Convention in July.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Harris for comment.
