WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump called California Sen. Kamala Harris "nasty" and the "meanest" member of the U.S. Senate shortly after Joe Biden named her as his running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.
Trump said Harris was "extraordinarily nasty" in her questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing, repeating a line of attack he has used against several other female opponents, including his 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"I thought it was terrible for her, I thought it was terrible for our nation," Trump told reporters at a press briefing at the White House. "I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible, the most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate."
"She was extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh," he said.
Trump also called Harris "nasty" in reference to a heated debate exchange over Biden's record on school busing during a Democratic presidential primary debate. "She was very disrespectful to Joe Biden, and it's hard to pick somebody that's that disrespectful," Trump said.
The Trump campaign was prepared with a nickname _ "phony Kamala" _ opposition advertising, and a phone call with reporters to respond to the Harris pick.
Harris, who had an Indian mother and Jamaican father, is the first Black woman and Asian American to run on the presidential ticket of a major party.
Trump offered several other criticisms of the candidate. He claimed that Harris wants to raise taxes, slash funds for the military, opposes fracking and is in favor of "socialized medicine."
And he suggested her performance in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination bodes poorly for the Biden-Harris ticket. Harris dropped out of the race early.
"I like Vice President Mike Pence much better. He is solid as a rock," Trump said.
