During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a question on what she would say to voters who aren’t sure President Joe Biden is mentally fit after the debate by saying that Biden had “a slow start, but a strong finish. And the bottom line is this: Let us not decide the outcome of who’s going to be president of the United States based on a 90-minute debate.”
Harris said, “I’d say, a slow start, but a good and strong finish. And I think that what’s most important is we saw an extraordinary contrast between the former President and the current President, on a variety of issues.”
Later, host Linsey Davis asked, “Madam Vice President, as you’re well aware, one of the biggest insecurities facing the campaign going into tonight was the claim, potentially, that President Biden is too old, that his mental acuity is just not there. Reaction across the board, including from Democrats, is that they were not convinced, potentially, tonight. What do you say to those voters who watched tonight and weren’t sure that he is mentally fit?”
Harris answered, “Listen, he did not get off to a strong start in that debate, but he had a strong finish. There was a slow start, but a strong finish. And the bottom line is this: Let us not decide the outcome of who’s going to be president of the United States based on a 90-minute debate. Let’s measure that decision against the last three-and-a-half years, where we have seen extraordinary growth in our economy, where we have seen extraordinary growth in terms of what our standing in the world, what we have done to strengthen NATO and strengthen the relationship with our allies.”
Harris continued, “And, to get more directly to your question, Linsey, I am Vice President 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and I spend a lot of that time with Joe Biden, whether it is in the Oval Office, where he negotiates bipartisan deals in a way that nobody can in this era. I spend time with him in the Situation Room, where he is bringing together leaders from our military and intelligence community, to ensure America is safe, where he is when he is on the national stage convening leaders around the world, who I have witnessed go up to Joe Biden, asking for his counsel and advice. That’s the Joe Biden I see every day. And I would urge folks to look at the record and look at the record of accomplishment and then look at what we’ve got on the other side, in Donald Trump, somebody who lies, somebody who has been found by a court of law and a jury of his peers to be guilty of 34 felonies, someone who intended to take the most fundamental freedom from the American people, which is the freedom to make decisions about their own body, and instead, he believes in investing that decision in the government, this is the choice for the people in November, and ultimately, I think we have to decide what kind of country do we want to live in?”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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