President Donald Trump says he’s “surprised” that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has selected Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, as his running mate.
Harris is the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major party’s ticket. The move -- fits the hopes of many Democrats.
Harris said she is honored to be Biden’s choice to run as vice president.
.@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he's spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he'll build an America that lives up to our ideals.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 11, 2020
I'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.
Biden tweeted that he’s proud of the choice and the partnership. Former President Barack Obama said Biden “nailed this decision.”
Daniel Henry, chairman of the Duval Democrats, said the choice makes a difference to him for many reasons, but one in particular is how he believes Harris will resonate with people during the final three months of campaigning.
“For someone who is an African American male, for the son of immigrants just like she is, it’s truly remarkable to have someone like her to be the vice presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, and I think she was an amazing choice,” Henry said.
President Trump told reporters at a White House briefing that Harris “was very disrespectful to Joe Biden” during the Democratic primaries, and said “it’s hard to pick somebody that’s that disrespectful.”
“I was more surprised than anything else because she did so poorly. Many people did much better than her in the primary. She did very poorly in the primaries, and that’s like a poll,” Trump said.
Chris Hand, who was the chief of staff for former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, wasn’t shocked by Biden’s choice.
“I think she was considered the front runner from the very first point this process began,” Hand said. “So I don’t think this is a surprising pick, but one that brings a lot of strengths that a presidential candidate who looks innovative looks for in a vice president.”
The president is trying to paint Harris as being too far left, saying she wants to raise taxes, slash funds for the militarily and ban fracking. He’s also noting her tough questioning of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing.
The president says says, “She was my No. 1 draft pick and we’ll see how she works out.” In July, Trump said she would be “a fine choice.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report