Trump’s Biggest Problem With Kamala Harris? She Was “Mean” to Brett Kavanaugh.

Jim Loscalzo/CNP/Zuma

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Today, after presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris to be his running mate, President Donald Trump seized the chance to attack Harris at his coronavirus press briefing. The only sustained criticism of Harris that Donald Trump could muster? She was too “mean” to Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Taking a softball question from a New York Post reporter, Trump resorted to playing his hits: calling a woman in a position of power “nasty.”

“She was extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh,” he said. “She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing.”

Besides being explicitly sexist, Trump’s focus on the Kavanaugh hearing was a non sequitur. The Post reporter had lobbed him a question about marijuana and Harris’ record on prosecutions—easy bait that Trump ignored.

During Kavanaugh’s 2018 confirmation hearing before the Senate, Harris grilled the justice on whether he had spoken to anyone at a law firm founded by Trump’s personal lawyer about Robert Mueller’s investigation. Kavanaugh was unable to come up with an answer. Here is the exchange:

Later in the briefing, Trump was asked directly whether Biden’s VP pick would help his chances at winning the presidency. He repeated his dig at Harris—she was so “nasty” to Kavanaugh. “I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the US Senate,” he said.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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