WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said she is “afraid” that Donald Trump could win another term as president as she vowed an aggressive campaign to ensure that doesn’t happen.
She made the comments Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” in response to a question from Joy Behar, one of the show’s hosts. Behar cited reports that other top Democrats — including former President Barack Obama and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina — are concerned about President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
When asked if she was afraid of the potential of another Trump presidency, Harris said: “I am extremely afraid! That’s why I travel through our country. You know, there’s an old saying that there are only two ways to run for office: without an opponent or afraid. So on all these points we should all indeed be afraid.”
Harris said the fear should serve as motivation for the upcoming campaign.
“If we are afraid for our children’s future, do we stay with the covers over our bed?” she said. “No that is not possible.”
Harris added, “We must earn re-election. There is no question. We have to be on our way.”
The vice president is expected to begin a series of events focused on abortion in Wisconsin, a key battleground state. The events begin Monday, the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that protected the right to abortion.
The court’s conservative majority overturned nationwide abortion rights in 2022, a significant defeat for Democrats but one that has also motivated the party’s voters.
“In this year of our Lord 2024, the government should not be telling women what to do with their bodies, and so it is so fundamental,” Harris said.
Alyssa Griffin, a former Trump communications official turned critic of the former president, pressed Harris on why Biden was trailing his predecessor in some polls.
“What does it say that the party is struggling to compete with an unfit man who is very likely to go to jail?” asked Griffin, another host of “The View.”
Harris suggested that voters have not been paying attention to politics and are now “starting to think about what this election will mean.”
She described a choice between “competence versus chaos,” as well as a battle for the future of American democracy.
“This will be a split screen,” Harris said. “And I truly believe that the American people will vote for what is in the best interest of the future of our country and especially our children.”