Vice President Harris took a swipe at former President Trump in an interview Tuesday, calling him out for being convicted in his New York hush money trial last week.
When asked on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” whether those she found out about the verdict with pretended “not to be happy” about it, Harris instead pointed to the gravity of the case and the six-week deliberations process.
“A jury of 12 people — peers — over the course of six weeks, deliberated on the evidence and facts and unanimously determined guilt,” Harris told Kimmel. “Thirty-four felony counts. That there was a defense attorney who actively participated in selecting that jury, who actively made decisions about witnesses to call, witnesses to cross-examine, and the jury made their decision.”
“You know, I think that the reality is, cheaters don’t like getting caught,” she quipped.
Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was convicted last week by a New York jury on all 34 counts of falsifying business records over a hush money scheme. The charges stemmed from reimbursements made to Trump’s former fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016 to buy her silence over an alleged past affair.
On Monday, President Biden also highlighted Trump’s conviction — which has become a major talking point for the Biden-Harris campaign against their 2024 rival — calling the former president “clearly unhinged.”
“Here is what is becoming clearer and clearer every day. The threat that Trump poses would be greater in a second term than it was in his first term,” Biden said, according to prepared remarks. “This isn’t the same Trump who got elected in 2016. He’s worse.”
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told donors he believes Trump is running for the White House in order to keep his freedom.
“Throughout this campaign, Trump has made it clear he is running to exact for revenge,” the president said. “Now after his criminal convictions it’s clear he’s worried about preserving his freedoms.”
The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Biden and Trump remain neck and neck in national polling, with the former president holding a 1.1 point lead over his successor, according to a polling index from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.