Ari Fleischer said Tuesday night that Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate will only tighten the presidential race by shining a spotlight on the presumptive Democratic nominee, with the former White House spokesman adding that Harris is “not that historically exciting to African Americans” if her primary performance was any indication.
“I think two political things are going to happen now that Harris is named,” Fleischer, who served in the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on her prime-time program. “One, this race is going to tighten up even more. The reason is because Biden naming her reminds people that Biden exists. He is so much better off hiding in his bunker and not making any news than he is making news.”
“Secondly, I just question whether or not this is going to boost African American turnout at all. I don’t think it will,” the Fox News contributor continued. “She’s just not that historically exciting to African Americans, she certainly wasn’t during the primary, and that was the one of the biggest reasons Biden picked her in order to win. I don’t see it.”
Harris, 55, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, would become the first woman of color to serve as vice president if Biden defeats President Trump in November.
“These aren’t normal times. For the first time in our history, we’re facing three historic crises — all at the same time. We’re facing the worst pandemic in 100 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The most powerful calls for racial justice in a generation. And we have a president who has both failed to lead on the virus — costing lives and decimating our economy — and fanned the flames of hate and division,” Biden said in an email to supporters on Tuesday in announcing Harris as his selection.
“I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead. Kamala is that person,” the former vice president added.
Trump commented on Harris during a White House press briefing on Tuesday when asked about the pick.
“She was my No. 1 pick. I mean, she was … my No. 1 draft pick, and we’ll see how she works out,” Trump told reporters. “She did very, very poorly in the primaries, as you know. She was expected to do well. And she ended up right around 2 percent and spent a lot of money. She had a lot of things happening. So I was a little surprised he picked her.”
Biden reportedly considered former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Fla) as his running mate, among others.