Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Sunday support for Vice President Kamala Harris would plummet as soon as voters “get a better look at her,” claiming the Democratic nominee had so far failed to answer questions about her “radical positions.”
Cotton, a strong backer of former President Donald Trump, was a top contender to be his vice presidential pick before he was passed over for Ohio Sen. JD Vance. During an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, the senator issued a slate of false claims about Harris’ policy positions before alleging she hadn’t answered “one single question” from the media since President Joe Biden ended his own reelection bid.
“What we all agree on is what a disaster Kamala Harris would be as president,” Cotton told host Ed O’Keefe. “She is a dangerous San Francisco liberal, who wants to do things like take your health insurance away on the job and give it to illegal aliens, because she wants to decriminalize illegal immigration into this country.”
Those claims are either exaggerated or patently false. Harris has pushed for universal background checks and bans on assault weapons, and she supports climate policies to transition the nation away from fossil fuels. And Cotton’s remarks about migration echo Republican dogwhistles trying to link her limited role on border security to claims she was the Biden administration’s “border czar.”
The senator also refused to disavow Trump’s attacks on Harris’ racial identity at a conference for Black journalists, saying he didn’t question if she were Black herself.
“He wasn’t saying that what matters is how she identifies as her race,” Cotton claimed, despite Trump saying exactly that. “He explicitly said he didn’t care. One was fine. The other was fine. Both was fine. She identifies as a dangerous San Francisco liberal. That’s the danger to the American people.”
Cotton went on to say Harris had avoided press scrutiny for two weeks — despite her hefty rally and campaign schedule — adding she couldn’t continue to do so until the November election. He didn’t mention Trump’s own refusal to answer questions at the next scheduled presidential debate, which is set to be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10, and instead hold one on his own terms.
“When she has to encounter the media, and I’m sure you’re going to insist that she does, she’s going to have to answer for things like why she wants to eliminate oil and gas production in this country, why she wants to ban gas-powered cars, why she wants to confiscate private firearms,” he went on.
Harris has maintained she will appear at the next debate, even if she’s the only candidate on stage.
“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” her campaign said after Trump’s remarks. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept. 10.”
