Harris on Trump's 2024 Run: 'I Will Be Running With Him' — and 'Did That Happen While I've Been Here?' (November 22, 2022)

Shortly after Donald Trump announced he would run for president again, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about it aboard a Philippine coast guard ship. “The former President Trump, while we were about to come here, announced that he would be running again for the presidency. I wonder if you have a response to that announcement and whether or not you and President Biden on the ticket will beat him,” a reporter said [1].

“Well, as the President said, he intends to run. And if he does, I will be running with him. And I have no doubt about the strength of the work that we have done over these past two years,” Harris said [1].

“But do you think a President Trump — former President Trump candidacy is good for the country, good for America?” the reporter asked. “I am thinking about, right now, what we need to do in the Indo-Pacific. Thank you for the question,” Harris said [1].

The video above shows Harris’s Nov. 22, 2022, press gaggle in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. Quotes are from the official White House transcripts and the vice presidential pool reports published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

Harris opened the gaggle by summing up her visit to the island of Palawan. “Palawan is a — is a place where, as you’ve seen, generations of families and individuals have invested in the fisheries that are here,” she said. “So, it has been a good trip for that reason.” [1]

“Or Did That Happen While I’ve Been Here?”

Another reporter asked whether Harris would support the next House Speaker visiting Taiwan. “Oh, I’m not going to speak to that. I think that — first of all, I don’t think that we have actually made a decision yet about who is the House Speaker? Or did that happen while I’ve been here?” she said. “It did not yet happen,” the reporter answered [1].

Asked when she and Biden would campaign in Georgia, Harris said: “I haven’t made any decision yet on the first thing. I’m basically still trying to figure out what I’m doing tomorrow — (laughs) — in terms of plans.” [1]

“It Is Just Tragic”

The same reporter asked about the deadly shooting in Colorado Springs. “It’s — again, it is — it is just tragic that these killings keep happening, that these shootings keep happening,” Harris said. “My heart goes out for those families and for that whole community.” [1]

Earlier, “The Vice President and the Second Gentleman stepped off Air Force Two at 12:36 p.m.,” and “Harris did not respond to shouted questions, including a question about her reaction to the shooting in Colorado Springs,” the pool reported. “There was a sign that said ‘Port of Puerto Princesa Welcomes Honorable Kamala Harris,’” the pooler noted [3].

”In the South China Sea”

Harris’s speech aboard the ship, the Teresa Magbanua, took on illegal fishing by foreign vessels in the South China Sea. “Communities like this have seen the consequences, and people here know the impacts, when foreign vessels enter Philippine waters and illegally deplete the fishing stock; when they harass and intimidate local fishers; when they pollute the ocean and destroy the marine ecosystem,” she said [2].

“We must stand up for principles such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, unimpeded lawful commerce, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and throughout the Indo-Pacific,” Harris said [2].

She announced money for the Philippines. “The United States will provide new funding to Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies to increase their capacity to counter IUU fishing, to enhance monitoring systems, and to upgrade equipment,” Harris said. “America’s prosperity relies on the billions of dollars that flow through these waters every day.” [2]

She also told of a woman she met earlier: “I spoke with a young woman — her name is Jacqueline — who runs a fish-drying business.” [2]

Before the speech, Harris toured a fishing village. “At 1:03 p.m., the Vice President walked into a gymnasium at a community center, where local schoolchildren did a choreographed wave, saying ‘welcome Vice President,’” the pool reported [3].

In the gaggle, she tied the trip to climate spending: “not to mention $370 billion in the climate crisis, which is one of the reasons that I’m here in the Philippines” [1].

By the Numbers

• 2 years: the record Harris said she had “no doubt” about [1].
• $370 billion: the climate spending Harris cited [1].
• 5: people killed in the Colorado shooting, per the reporter’s question [1].
• 312-226: Trump’s Electoral College win over Harris two years later [6].

What Happened Next

Biden ran, then quit. Biden announced his campaign on April 25, 2023: “That’s why I’m running for re-election” [4]. On July 21, 2024, he wrote that “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down” [5].

Harris ran against the candidate she would not assess. As the Democratic nominee, she lost to Trump, who won 312 electoral votes to her 226, according to the National Archives [6].

For a phrase Harris used again and again that fall, see HYGO News’ page on her Venn diagram line.

Sources

1. The White House (archived): Press Gaggle by Vice President Harris Aboard the Philippine Coast Guard Ship Teresa Magbanua (November 22, 2022)
2. The White House (archived): Remarks by Vice President Harris Aboard the Philippine Coast Guard Ship Teresa Magbanua (November 22, 2022)
3. The American Presidency Project: Vice Presidential Pool Reports of November 22, 2022
4. The American Presidency Project: Video Remarks Announcing Candidacy for Re-Election (April 25, 2023)
5. The American Presidency Project: Letter to the Nation Announcing Decision Not to Seek Reelection (July 21, 2024)
6. National Archives: 2024 Electoral College Results