WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – President Donald Trump said he was “a little surprised” that Democratic challenger Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate, saying she had been “nasty” to the former vice president in primary debates.

“She was my number one pick” to run with Mr Biden, Mr Trump said at a Tuesday (Aug 11) news conference.

Mr Trump attacked Ms Harris for her questioning of Mr Brett Kavanaugh over sexual misconduct allegations during his Senate confirmation hearings to join the Supreme Court.

“I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible, the most disrespectful of anybody in the US Senate,” Mr Trump said.

As a private citizen, Mr Trump donated twice to Ms Harris when she was a candidate for attorney general of California. He contributed a total of US$6,000 (S$8,239) to her campaign committee in 2011 and 2013 combined, according to state records.

Minutes after Mr Biden announced Ms Harris as his pick on Tuesday, Mr Trump tweeted a campaign ad calling Ms Harris a “phony”, saying she criticised Mr Biden for supporting “racist policies” when they ran against each other for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Ms Harris, 55, became the first Black woman and first Asian-American on a major party presidential ticket. Known as an aggressive campaigner, she has won statewide elections three times in California. She built her early career as district attorney of San Francisco and was elected as the state’s attorney general.

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