Kamala Harris says the RNC is designed to 'soothe Donald Trump's ego'
In a scorching address delivered ahead of the final night of the Republican National Convention, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, slammed President Trump's coronavirus response, saying he was "fixated on the stock market" rather than focused on keeping the virus from spreading.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Trump "froze," Harris said. "He was scared. And he was petty and vindictive." He "caved" to the Chinese government and has shown a "reckless disregard for the well-being of the American people," she continued. He also failed to understand the nature of a pandemic. "It's relentless," Harris said. "You can't stop it with a tweet. You can't create a distraction and hope it'll go away. It doesn't go away."
Harris also took aim at the Republican National Convention, which this year has featured speeches from most of Trump's relatives. She said it was designed with one purpose: "To soothe Donald Trump's ego, to make him feel good. But here's the thing: He's the president of the United States, and it's not supposed to be about him. It's supposed to be about the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people. And on that measure, Donald Trump has failed."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Prisoner 951: ‘illuminating’ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe dramaThe Week Recommends 'Harrowing' tale of prison ordeal and an ‘unbreakable’ bond between husband and wife
-
Sudoku medium: November 26, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Crossword: November 26, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
