Vice President Kamala Harris would not comment on whether President Joe Biden will debate former President Donald Trump during a Friday interview with NBC News.
Harris also declined to say whether she would participate in a vice-presidential debate with whoever Trump — the GOP’s presumptive 2024 nominee — chooses as his running mate.
Instead, Harris told the network she was celebrating Thursday’s State of the Union address and spoke about what she said had been Biden’s accomplishments throughout his first term.
Harris was asked about Biden debating Trump and she repeatedly used the words “split screen” in an apparent attempt to portray a contrast between the two men.
“On the one hand, you’ve got Joe Biden — someone who is competent, who is principled, who has accomplished more than many presidents even hoped for,” Harris said.
She claimed Biden had delivered success to the American people on issues such as infrastructure, “climate” and health care.
The vice president made no mention of the border crisis or inflation.
She then painted Trump as an authoritarian figure when discussing whether Biden would be willing to debate him.
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“On the other side of that split screen, you’ve got [Trump] who glorifies dictators and has said he’ll be a dictator on day one,” Harris said. “Someone who has said that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.”
After refusing to participate in primary debates, former President Trump recently said he would debate President Biden “anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”
VP Harris says she hasn’t spoken to the president about him debating Trump, but said it would be a stark “split screen.” pic.twitter.com/U4Ivua1p5H
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) March 8, 2024
Harris did not comment on the Department of Justice cases against Trump or about the fact that Biden was recently not charged over his mishandling of classified documents during the period after he was vice president.
DOJ special counsel Robert Hur said a decision not to try Biden for “willful” mishandling of sensitive inflation was made because of his advanced age and poor memory last month.
Harris skipped beyond questions about Biden’s alleged use of the justice system and federal agencies against conservatives and went on to complain Trump nominated three of the Supreme Court’s nine justices.
She said that through those picks, Trump is to be blamed because many women can no longer use abortion as birth control after Roe v. Wade came to an end and the issue was handed back to the states.
“[Trump is] someone who said he’s proud of the fact that he had picked three members of the United States Supreme Court, who took a constitutional right from the women of America to make decisions about their own body,” Harris complained.
She conceded a decision as to whether Biden will debate will be made soon, but said of the differences between him and Trump, “The split screen is clear.”
After she was asked by Alexander whether she would participate in a debate she said, “We just got through the State of the Union. I’m just so excited about what we accomplished last night and our president.”
