Rubio: Harris a 'radical California left winger'
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday said Vice President Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, will be "worse" than President Biden if elected, saying she is "owned by the left" while criticizing her policy stances.
"In the end, she's a radical California left winger and people need to know about her record," Rubio said on Fox News's "Fox and Friends"
"She'll be the most radically left president this country would ever have if she were elected," he continued, "She will be worse than Biden, she'll be worse than Biden because she actually fully believes these things and will make them priorities."
Rubio, who was floated as former President Trump's running mate for this election cycle, argued Biden was "rented" by the liberals and did not have his own political base.
"His [Biden's] career had not really been that of a radical leftist, but he was useful to them because he got in office. He frankly didn't know what was going on and it gave the leftists and the shadow government a lot of runway to do whatever they wanted," Rubio said. "Kamala Harris is not a rental, she's owned by the left. She is a product of the left wing of the Democratic Party."
The Florida Republican pointed to Harris's stance on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and police, arguing she will work to defund ICE and the police if elected to office.
Rubio's remarks echo that of Trump and his allies, who have taken aim at Harris for the situation at the U.S. southern border. House Republicans are teeing up a vote on a resolution to condemn the Biden administration and Harris, who is described as a "border czar" in the resolution.
"I know she changed her positions when she became the vice-presidential nominee. But these are the things she fought for and stood for and voted for when she was a senator and that's what she'll do when she's president," Rubio said, adding later, "She'll push them, and this country will be destroyed."
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates dismissed the "border czar" attack Tuesday, saying, “As we speak, congressional Republicans continue their months-long blockade of critical resources for ICE and the Border Patrol in the tough bipartisan border security agreement supported by the Biden-Harris Administration.”
Harris walked a fine line in 2020 when asked about her stance on defunding the police prior to being tapped for Biden's ticket. At the time, she responded by trying to clarify what police defunding meant and argued it is not as radical as opponents portray it as.
The Hill reached out to Harris's campaign for further comment.
Rubio's remarks come just days after Biden announced he would step aside from the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to run as his successor.
Scores of Democrats quickly endorsed Harris, who crossed the threshold to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, receiving more than 1,968 delegate endorsements on her campaign's first full day.