Kamala Harris given too much credit for Democratic debate

OSAKA, Japan – President Donald Trump said Sen. Kamala Harris was being given "too much credit" for her debate performance against Joe Biden, explaining that he thought the former vice president was attacked more than he should have been. 

Trump spoke for more than an hour at a news conference marking the end of the G-20 summit and took on a variety of subjects, including the powerful exchange between Harris and Biden that defined the second night of the first Democratic primary debate. 

Harris challenged Biden over his remarks last week about working with segregationist senators James Eastland and Herman Talmadge early in his political career. Turning to Biden on Thursday, Harris said she doesn’t think he’s racist, but she said it’s “hurtful” to hear him talk about finding common ground with two senators who built their reputation and career on segregation.

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Harris cited Biden’s fight against school busing and told the story of a young California girl who was part of the second class to integrate her school.

“That little girl is me,” she said.

While the exchange quickly became the most-talked-about moment from the two days of debating, Trump didn't appear impressed. 

"I thought that she was given too much credit," the president said. "He didn't do well, certainly, and maybe the facts weren't necessarily on his side. I think she was given too much credit for what she did. It wasn't that outstanding." 

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Trump went on to say that Harris' response was "straight out of the can, what she said. That thing was right out of a box," and added that Biden "didn't respond great." 

"This was not Winston Churchill we're dealing with, OK," he said of Biden, "but it wasn't, I don't think, nearly as bad as they portended it to be."

During the press conference, Trump also defended his exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin where he appeared to joke about that country’s meddling in the 2016 election. He also responded to recent criticism from former president Jimmy Carter by calling him a "nice man" but a "terrible president."

Source: USA Today

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