Reuters
Published Jul 29, 2020 02:13PM ET
Updated Jul 29, 2020 04:05PM ET
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice, who is on Joe Biden's short list to be his running mate, criticized President Donald Trump on Wednesday for failing to question Russian leader Vladimir Putin about reports Moscow paid bounties for the killing of U.S. troops.
"He is absolutely a failure as our commander in chief," Rice told the ABC network in an interview. "He has got some very bizarre, very inexplicable reason for always giving Putin the benefit of the doubt."
Trump said in an interview on Tuesday with "Axios on HBO" that he never questioned Putin about U.S. intelligence reports that Moscow paid the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan.
Trump, who has sought to cultivate warmer relations with Moscow, has called the reports a hoax and has said he was not briefed on the matter before it emerged in news media in late June.
Trump's campaign said the president had been tough on Russia, expelling Russian diplomats and imposing sanctions on Russian companies and people over a host of issues. "President Trump has been tougher on Russia than Joe Biden ever thought of being," said campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.
Biden, who leads Trump in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, is in the final stages of choosing his running mate and said on Tuesday he would name his selection in the first week of August. He has been increasingly expected to pick a woman of color, with the nation roiled by protests over racial injustice.
Speaking to ABC's "The View," Rice, who is Black, confirmed she was under consideration by the Biden campaign for the job, but did not say whether she had been interviewed.
Rice, 55, has never run for public office and if tapped by Biden, would be an untested presence on the campaign trail. But she had a solid working relationship with Biden when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. She was Obama's national security adviser from 2013 to 2017.
Rice also criticized Trump for not committing to accept the results of November's election. Democrats are increasingly concerned Trump will refuse to leave the White House even if defeated, and Rice said it would be important that Trump lose "decisively."
"It has to be a resounding defeat," she said.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News earlier in July that he would not commit to accepting the results of the Nov. 3 vote, although representatives of his campaign have said he would respect the results.
BENGHAZI
Rice conceded that should she be chosen, her role in the aftermath of the 2012 militant attack on the U.S. mission on Benghazi, Libya, would likely become a campaign issue.
At the time, Rice, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was accused by Republicans of misleading the public about the nature of the attack. Congressional probes, however, found no wrongdoing on her part, and Rice on Wednesday defended her actions, calling Republican charges "dishonest."
"I don't doubt that the Republicans will use this and they'll attack whoever is Joe Biden's choice to be his vice president," she said.
While Rice is viewed as a serious contender for the No. 2 spot on the ticket, the favorite is considered to be Senator Kamala Harris of California, who battled Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Asked about Harris at the White House on Wednesday, Trump passed up a chance to attack Biden's possible running mate.
"I think she'd be a fine choice, Kamala Harris," Trump told reporters. "She’d be a fine choice."
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.