Kamala Harris cannot make up for Joe Biden’s ‘inadequacies,’ says Trump aide Kellyanne Conway

'She's ready to lead on day one,' 77-year-old presumptive Democratic nominee says of running mate

A close confidante of Donald Trump called vice presidential hopeful Kamala Harris a “hard-left” Democrat and said the California senator cannot remedy “inadequacies” at the top of the ticket.

The president and his surrogates have been trying to paint Ms Harris as part of the progressive and most liberal wing of the Democratic Party as they try to plant seeds of doubts about Joe Biden‘s running mate in the minds of suburban and moderate voters.

Ms Conway contended that Americans should appreciate Ms Harris being the first vice presidential candidate of black and Asian descent, as well as a female, while also questioning her policies and those of Mr Biden.

“Somebody that wants to be vice president of the United States or president of the United States regardless of their gender, whether they are male or female, they ought to be able to answer the tough questions without saying, ‘Oh no you can’t speak about women a certain way,’” she told reporters, before taking a jab at Hillary Clinton: “Look, was this country in 2016 ready for a female president? Absolutely. Just not the one that was running.”

She added: “I think that this country, we can do two things. I think we can stand up and take a moment to applaud when history is made, and then take a moment to say why somebody who seems forward-looking would actually bring us backwards as a nation through her record, and her policies and her beliefs. But she’s part of a ticket that has that problem. Senator Harris cannot cure the flaws and the inadequacies at the top of the ticket.”

But Tom Wolf, Democratic governor of key swing state Pennsylvania, called Ms Harris a “remarkable leader” who, if elected, could help Mr Biden “finally begin the long journey of putting our country back on track”.

“She has always worked to lift up the middle class by fighting for quality affordable health care, better wages for workers, and more educational opportunities for our children,” Mr Wolf said in a statement.

In a Wednesday tweet, Mr Biden said, if elected, he and his running mate would “inherit multiple crises, a nation divided, and a world in disarray. We won’t have a minute to waste”.

“That’s exactly why I picked her,” he wrote. “She’s ready to lead on day one.”

The Democratic duo is scheduled to make remarks together for the first time as a team at 3:50 p.m. (ET) in Wilmington, Delaware.