Video: Sen. Mark Warner Rips Trump Calling America “a stupid country”; Expresses Great Confidence in Kamala Harris, Says She “will do great in Virginia”

See below for video and a few highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s regular press availability.

• “First I want to address the issue of President Biden’s decision not to seek re-election…we heard from Joe Biden last night, who I think showed himself as a real American patriot, putting the country first, recognizing his literally multiple decades of service to our nation, but realizing it’s time to pass the torch. So I’m  grateful for the president’s selfless decision. I also think about the kind of America that Joe Biden talked about last night that can accomplish great things, but we all have to own that responsibility versus the dark and destructive vision that Donald Trump continues to put out. Matter of fact, I saw in some of the clips that in the last day or so he’s called America’s a stupid country. How do you aspire to lead a nation if you make those kind of comments?”
• “I’ve also been extraordinarily impressed by how much support has been thrown behind Kamala Harris. I know Vice President Harris very well – Lisa and I have spent time with her and Doug socially; she served on my Senate intelligence committee. And the next president of the United States is going to inherit an extraordinarily challenging world where we’ve got Russian aggression in Ukraine, China’s efforts to continue to expand its authoritarian power not only across Asia but across the world, a NATO that has been strengthened under President Biden. And Vice President Harris has got the ability to have that continuity; she’s had exposure to the world’s leaders, I think she will be well received…I can say also tell you behind closed doors she was extraordinarily well respected, she did her homework. She goes into this task as running for president I know with solid national security bonafides and I’ll be there to vouch for her and proud to endorse her all along the way.”
• “I also want to make a quick comment on on Prime Minister
  Netanyahu’s speech yesterday. It was impassioned. And while I agree Israel has the right to defend itself and we all agree that Hamas committed unspeakable atrocities on October 7th, but I was deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister did not acknowledge the suffering and death now of over 40,000 Palestinians. And there cannot be a release of hostages without a ceasefire in Gaza. And we see extremism in the West Bank where Israeli settlers continue to harass Palestinians, we see the Israeli military action in Gaza, we need to get to a ceasefire. And the only way we will get to a permanent lasting peace is a two-state solution…”
• “We continue to see an economy that is the envy of the world I think. We saw second quarter GDP growth about 2.9% today. The truth of the matter is – and this is plain facts – the whole rest of the world envies the American economy, and world growth has been increased by a full percent of of GDP because of the resilience and the strength of the American economy. You’ve got that strength with inflation coming down and continuing to manage that. I know that’s not what Mr. Trump says; again, I wonder why somebody who calls our country stupid thinks he could lead it. But he paints a very very bleak picture of where we are in America that is not the case.”
• “I think sinking in what the choice in front of America is. We’ve got a Donald Trump that said he was going to be a new guy – that lasted maybe 20 minutes – at the Republican convention before he went back into the old, frankly, demeaning of our country again. I point out I think in the last 24 hours he’s called the country stupid and that everybody in leadership in America stupid…that’s not the America that I know or the America that I think we all respect and love. I do think there’s enormous new energy coming from Kamala Harris’s candidacy. I think we’re seeing that in new registrations all over the country. We’re seeing that obviously it’s been widely reported in the upsurge in donations. I can tell you amongst my colleagues in the Senate, there’s a bigger spring in [their] step in terms of energy and enthusiasm. And…one of the ways that we could build on that is we still owe Virginia State a visit by the vice president or a debate venue or at least a vice presidential debate.”
• “Do I really look crazy enough to weigh in on one of these folks [potential VP picks for Kamala Harris] over the other? You know, I’d like to see somebody that is viewed as a moderate. I’d like to see somebody that’s got some foreign policy experience, although I think Kamala Harris is quite strong (I’ve seen that firsthand in her role on the Senate intelligence committee and obviously or four years as vice president). I also always take a hanker[ing] to governors because they’ve got executive experience. So hopefully my answer has not disqualified any of the above, and I am sure she’ll make a great pick…I think that that’s going to bring a new energy to this already energized effort that’s been really…pretty remarkable over the last…boy, I guess it was just Sunday that President Biden said he was not going to run for re-election. It feels like a very different campaign today than it did say a week ago.”
• “I think [Kamala Harris’] comments echo a lot of Americans across the political lines – Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorists, and Hamas are terrorists, but the idea the way the Israeli Prime Minister yesterday somehow said anyone who protests and calls out the destruction and the number of deaths in Gaza is somehow controlled by a foreign government like Iran, that’s just not the case. There is evidence of some Iranians trying to influence, and I fully reject those protesters who advocate for Hamas or who tore down an American flag at Union Station…but we’ve got to get a ceasefire…and it’s going to take both parties, both the Israeli government and the Hamas leadership to make compromises to get to that…”
• “I’m not in the inner circle of the Harris campaign team. I think those key Midwestern states are still going to be key – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin. I think a lot of young voters in those states, a lot of voters of color are newly energized. But I also think states that appeared to be potentially slipping away from President Biden – Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina – are going to be back in play, because a lot of of again younger voters, Latino voters I think are energized. I’ve got to tell you, I feel much much better about Virginia, and I know…my friend of 40 years…[Tim Kaine] …I think he was going to be fine regardless. But I think Vice President Harris will do great in Virginia. So I’m a lot more optimistic.”
• “I also got to say, we’ve got to go through a Democratic convention, I hope we come out with a different message than some of the fearmongering that took place in Milwaukee…in most nations, you know, a long campaign for national office is 90 days…so I think there’s going to be more than enough time for Vice President Harris to re introduce herself to Americans and introduce herself to those who maybe not focused in the past. And I think one of the strongest things she’s got going for is not only economy that I think more and more people realize is continuing to be strong and the envy of the world, but Donald Trump has gone back to his his negative, demeaning, dark vision for America, and I don’t think that’s where Americans are at – that’s not who we are as a people. And so I’m very optimistic, but I’ve never been a great political prognosticator…so I’ll leave that to the pros.”