Harris calls Trump and Vance ‘weird’ after Catlady attack

Kamala Harris called her Republican rival Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance “weird” on Saturday at her first fundraiser since taking over the 2024 presidential election from Joe Biden.

Harris made the remarks in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where an enthusiastic crowd made clear its support for the likely 2024 Democratic nominee. Singer James Taylor introduced Harris, and the event is expected to raise as much as $1.4 million.

“We are the underdogs in this race,” Harris said, echoing what former President Barack Obama said when he endorsed her. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. And it’s not going to be easy.”

While Harris did not mention specific comments from Trump and Vance, the two have ramped up their attacks on Harris over the past week. At a campaign rally on Saturday night, Trump went all out, saying he “doesn’t care” how you pronounce her name while calling her a “lazy” vice president and “low IQ.”

Harris used the opportunity at the fundraiser to point out her opponents and present her blunt view on the issue.

“You may have noticed that Donald Trump has resorted to wild lies about my past and some of the statements made by him and his running mate… Well, it’s just weird,” Harris said.

“I mean, that’s the box you put this in,” she added, according to Alex Gangitano of The Hill.

Comments from 2021 in which Vance criticized “childless cat ladies” also went viral this week, drawing criticism in return from the likes of Jennifer Aniston. At the time, Vance said the U.S. was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made… It’s just a basic fact — look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

Vance reiterated the comments in an interview with conservative media personality Megyn Kelly on her Sirius XM show on Friday. “It was obviously a sarcastic comment. People focus so much on the sarcasm and not the content of what I actually said,” Vance said. “The content of what I said, Megyn — I’m sorry, it’s true.”

The use of the word “weird” appears to be a deliberate move. It has cropped up more than once in recent days, including when Trump was described as “old and pretty weird” after an appearance on Fox News on Thursday.

The Harris campaign also attacked Trump after the former president called Harris a “low IQ” and “radical” during his own appearance at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville on Saturday. “Trump, who thought bleach injections would cure COVID, calls Kamala Harris ‘a low IQ person,'” the campaign countered. Trump’s comments claiming Harris has “no talent” and is a “loser” also drew a campaign response on X. “Kamala Harris is a historically successful vice president, while Trump is an unemployed convicted felon.”

Second Gentleman Emhoff also jumped on the bandwagon and offered Trump a response to the former president’s comments on mispronunciation.

“Mr. Trump, I know you have a lot of trouble pronouncing Kamala Harris’ name. Here’s the good news. After the election, you can just call her Madam President,” he said to thunderous applause.

The Harris team released a statement on Saturday condemning Trump’s ominous comments Saturday about future elections if he becomes president and assuring voters that “things are rigged.”

“When Vice President Harris says this election is about freedom, she means it,” the statement said. “Our democracy is under attack by the criminal Donald Trump: After the last election, which Trump lost, he sent a mob to overturn the result. In this election, he has promised violence if he loses, the end of our elections if he wins, and the suspension of the Constitution to make him a dictator who can impose his dangerous ‘Project 2025’ agenda in America.”

The statement concluded: “Donald Trump wants to take America back to the politics of hate, chaos and fear. This November, America will join with Vice President Kamala Harris to stop him.”