Joe Biden favourite Kamala Harris ‘eviscerated’ by rival in unearthed clip | World | News

Kamala Harris was mercilessly slapped down by a Democratic presidential rival during a fiery televised debate in 2020 – with the awkward clip hinting at the rocky road which lies ahead as she seeks to secure her party’s nomination.

Vice-President Ms Harris was endorsed by incumbent Joe Biden yesterday as he announced he would not be standing for election against Donald Trump in November.

The President is believed to want his party to adopt her as their candidate in advance of its convention in Chicago next month.

However, this is far from guaranteed, with former President Barack Obama implying that the decision should be taken at the convention itself in a move which would potentially pave the way for a free-for-all.

Democratic bickering was on full display four years ago during a debate hosted by CNN.

In one particularly spiky moment shared by James Melville, director of media consultancy East Points West in the UK, long-shot candidate Tulsi Gabbard challenged 59-year-old Ms Harris on her record as a public prosector.

At the time Ms Gabbard, who served two terms in the US House of Representatives between 2013 and 2021, said: “I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today.

“Senator Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president, but I’m deeply concerned about this record.

“There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so.

“She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labour for the state of California. And she fought to keep cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.”

Mr Melville commented: “Here’s a reminder when Tulsi Gabbard absolutely eviscerated Kamala Harris in a Democratic presidential debate in 2019.”

In a remarkable turnaround Ms Gabbard quit the Democractic Party in 2022 and campaigned on behalf of several Trump-endorsed candidates.

Explaining her decision, she blamed “cowardly wokeness, anti-white racism, being hostile to people of faith and spirituality, and dragging us closer to nuclear war”.

Mr Biden backed Ms Harris half an hour after he confirmed he was abandoning his campaign on X.

He said: “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.

“Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

In a statement shared on the social media platform last night, Mr Obama – under whom Mr Biden served as Vice-President – struck a slightly different tone.

He said: “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.

“I believe that Joe Biden’s vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August.

“And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond.”

Mr Trump himself has kept up a steady stream of commentary on his Truth Social platform.

In one characteristically forthright post, he declared: “Crooked Joe Biden is the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation. He has done everything possible to destroy our Country, from our Southern Border, to Energy Dominance, National Security, International Standing, and so much more.

“He was annihilated in an Earth Shattering Debate, and now the Corrupt and Radical Democrats are throwing him overboard.

“He was not fit to serve from the very beginning, but the people around him lied to America about his Complete and Total Mental, Physical, and Cognitive Demise. Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”