Trump has yet to taunt Kamala Harris. Chris Christie implies that's because he's 'afraid' of her.


President Trump has already begun targeting several of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates with insults — but Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has remained a surprising exception.
Trump has already mocked Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for announcing her presidential run in the middle of a blizzard, and he's continued to hammer on the controversy surrounding Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) claimed Native American heritage. But the president has said very little about Harris aside from an official White House tweet over the summer claiming that the senator was "supporting" MS-13 gang members. In fact, more recently he's even paid Harris what might be considered a compliment.
"I would say the best opening so far would be Kamala Harris," Trump said in an interview with The New York Times, responding to a question about which Democratic candidate might be the toughest challenger in 2020. "Better crowd, better enthusiasm. Some of the others were very flat."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump has also so far refrained from bestowing upon Harris one of his signature nicknames. The president's scathing monikers — "Crooked" Hillary Clinton, "'Cryin'" Chuck Schumer, and Warren's "Pocahontas" frequently appear on his Twitter feed. On the last campaign trail, he belittled other Republican nominees as well, dubbing Sen. Marco Rubio "Little Marco" and Jeb Bush "Low Energy Jeb."
Nothing for Harris, though. As former New Jersey governor Chris Christie recently explained, "If he respects you, you don't get a nickname, because he's afraid what's going to come back", before pointing out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) similarly has no epithet. For now, at least, it seems that Harris is in that same league.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'