Vice President Kamala Harris had some biting words about Donald Trump on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight, making it a point to comment on his recent New York felony conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Like President Joe Biden, Harris has started to chime in on the state court case, after the administration and the campaign had said little as the six-week trial played out.
In studio in Hollywood, Harris told Kimmel, “A jury of 12 people, peers, over the course of six weeks, deliberated on the evidence and facts and unanimously determined guilt on 34 felony counts. There was a defense attorney who actively participated in selecting that jury, who actively made decisions about witnesses to call, witnesses to cross examine. And the jury made their decision and you know, I think that the reality is, cheaters don’t like getting caught and being held accountable.”
“The reality is, let’s just fast forward again to November. I think the American people want to know that there is a president who is accountable to the people.”
Since his conviction last week, Trump has railed against the justice system as “rigged,” with he and some allies on Capitol Hill blaming Joe Biden for the former president’s prosecution. In fact, Trump was convicted in New York state court, and not prosecuted by the federal Justice Department.
The sit down gave Harris a friendly venue to talk about signature issues of the reelection campaign, particularly issues like abortion and healthcare. Kimmel keyed her up on some key issues, while interspersing the interview with occasional humor. As they were talking about the move toward cannabis legalization, he asked is she was aware of a strain named after her, Kamala Kush.
“Seriously, I did not know that,” Harris said.
“You mean they didn’t send you any?” Kimmel said. “That’s outrageous.”
Kimmel, like his CBS rival Stephen Colbert, is taking part in a Biden-Harris campaign event. The ABC late night host is scheduled to take part in a Los Angeles campaign fundraiser next week, when he moderates a panel with the president and former President Barack Obama. Kimmel has also been outspoken on major issues like healthcare, as he criticized Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act shortly after Trump took office in 2017.
During the interview, Harris was particularly sharp and pointed, particularly in talking about Trump.
That was particularly true when he and Harris talked about Trump’s claim that Biden has “weaponized the Justice Department.
“Whatever he does, it’s classic projection and he will say ‘You’re doing it,’ when he’s doing everything and intends to do it,” Kimmel said. “If President Biden has weaponized the justice system, why doesn’t he get his son out of the trial. Hunter is currently on trial. Couldn’t he just snap his weaponized fingers and get him right out of that?”
Harris said, “To your point, the former president is a hypocrite, and will apply one set of standards to himself and another to others.”
Kimmel responded, “He was born a hypocrite. I mean, he puts the hippo in hypocrites.”
Perhaps the most surprising part of the interview was when Kimmel asked Harris, “Have you ever met Donald Trump?”
“No,” she answered.
“Wow, that is something else,” Kimmel said.
More to come.
