Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy argued that Donald Trump has showcased his presidential leadership, pointing to the example of how the former president honored the Abbey Gate victims earlier this week.
McCarthy praised Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), for their campaigning, contrasting it with that of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who were not at the Arlington National Cemetery ceremony on Monday that honored the 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing on Afghanistan. The California Republican specifically took note of how Trump “walked so presidential” at the ceremony.
“Where was Kamala Harris, the VP?” McCarthy asked on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, guest-hosted by Pete Hegseth. “Nowhere to be found. He didn’t say a word, but what he did — he showed what the real heart of America was thinking and thinking about: those families and those lost loved ones. Didn’t have to be, and who was the last person in the room and proud of that decision? Kamala Harris. How is she going to flip on that?”
McCarthy also commended Vance for his speeches against Harris, in which he questioned why Harris is not taking action to fulfill her 2024 campaign promises when she is already vice president. McCarthy compared this to a scenario in which an employee asks a boss for a raise after failing to do his or her job properly for 3 1/2 years.
The former House speaker also knocked Harris for changing her policies to appear more centrist to voters, saying, “Instead of Kamala, it’s Kahamela,” a play on the word chameleon.
“This is a short campaign, let’s be honest,” McCarthy said. “If she had to run to win the nomination, she never would have won the nomination. So she’s trying to avoid any press, try to just stay there, and try to take any position they think popular.”
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Harris’s first interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee will air on CNN Thursday night, where she will be joined by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). The interview has received criticism ahead of its release due to Harris not doing it solo, with one CNN contributor suggesting it shows a “lack of confidence” on Harris’s side.
Polling data show Harris ahead of Trump among independent voters across six battleground states, including Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Among all voters, Harris was slightly ahead in almost all of these states, with Pennsylvania, where she is tied with Trump at 48%, being the exception.