White House calls Trump’s attacks on Kamala Harris ‘appalling’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed former President Donald Trump’s attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris at a Friday press briefing.

“I think it’s gross, I think it’s disturbing, and it’s not OK,” Jean-Pierre said in response to a question about the increased scrutiny of Harris from Republicans, including Trump, after President Joe Biden's poor debate performance. “[Harris] should be respected in the role that she has as vice president. She should be respected like any other vice president before her who was in that role.”

“It is appalling that a — I’m going to be careful here — that a former president is saying that about a current vice president, and we should call that out,” she added.

Trump has ramped up his attacks against the vice president in the aftermath of last week’s debate, giving her the nickname “Laffin’ Kamala Harris” in what appears to be a reference to Harris's laugh .

“Respects to our potentially new Democrat Challenger, Laffin’ Kamala Harris. She did poorly in the Democrat Nominating process, starting out at Number Two, and ending up defeated and dropping out, even before getting to Iowa, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a ‘highly talented’ politician!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Thursday.

A clip also circulated on social media Thursday of the former president disparaging Harris as “pathetic.”

In the video , Trump calls President Joe Biden an “old, broken-down pile of crap” before turning his attention to the vice president.

“She’s so bad. She’s pathetic. She’s so f****** bad,” he said.

The former president’s remarks come as speculation swirls around whether Biden will withdraw from the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance, which may clear the way for Harris to become the new Democratic nominee.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday showed Harris trailing Trump in a hypothetical matchup by just 1 percentage point, 42% to 43%.

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The vice president has remained steadfast in her support for Biden in the aftermath of his debate performance.

“We will not back down,” Harris said on Wednesday. “We will follow our president’s lead. We will fight, and we will win. … Joe Biden has devoted his life to fighting for the people of our country. In this moment, I know all of us are ready to fight for him.”