“Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace on Wednesday said Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is “a reasonably safe choice” for Democrats, adding that the presumptive vice presidential nominee isn’t very far to the left on the political spectrum.
“She is not far to the left, despite what Republicans are gonna try to say,” Wallace told “America’s Newsroom.”
His comments come a day after former Vice President Joe Biden chose Harris as his running mate. After Biden’s announcement, President Trump said Harris was his No. 1 pick.
“Despite the president saying yesterday that Kamala Harris was his No. 1 draft pick, that she’s the one he wanted the most, I promise you that there were a lot of people he would have liked to be running against much more,” Wallace said.
Other contenders on Biden’s VP shortlist included Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.).
Harris was seen as a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination when she kicked off her White House bid in early 2019. But her campaign failed to gain traction, with the California senator dropping out before 2020 as polls showed her far behind Biden, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“She did not do very well in the Democratic primaries for a variety of reasons. She didn’t run a great campaign,” Wallace said.
But he said she’s likely to energize voters as Biden’s running mate.
“She adds some excitement to the ticket. She’s a statement to African Americans and especially to African American women, who are the real solid core of the Democratic Party, that the party does not take them for granted,” the veteran newsman added.
The Trump campaign launched its first ad against Harris shortly after Tuesday’s announcement.
The ad slams Harris for positions she took during her presidential campaign, including her temporary support for “Medicare for All” and advocacy for police reform.
“Voters rejected Harris. They smartly spotted a phony,” a narrator says in the ad, which the president tweeted to his more than 85 million followers. “But not Joe Biden. He’s not that smart. He’s called himself a transition candidate.”