Harris throws down the gauntlet to Trump for opting out of debate, interviews: ‘What is he hiding?’

Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday she wonders what former President Donald Trump is “trying to hide” as he continues to evade another debate showdown and cancels interviews and events in the final days of the election.

Harris spent Monday touring three battleground states with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) as the pair reached out to voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

In a pointed moment, Harris attacked Trump’s refusal to debate her again after their only showdown last month and to participate in traditional interviews, namely with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” in the run-up to November.

“I wonder: What is he hiding?” Harris said during an event in Wisconsin. “I also wonder what his staff is trying to hide by preventing him or encouraging him not to debate me again and not to do these interviews.”

“He’s withdrawing from interviews left, right and center.”

The vice president has been on a whirlwind tour of the country in recent weeks as polls show the race is virtually undecided and only seven key battleground states are likely to decide the outcome of the election. She used her appearances to appeal to independent voters and undecided Republicans, pointing to GOPers and former aides who have broken with Trump.

Cheney, a longtime critic of the former president and a key Republican figure on the Jan. 6 House special committee investigating the origins of the attack on the Capitol, backed up those claims on Monday.

“You have to choose people of character, people of good faith,” Cheney told an audience when asked about speaking to family members about the election.

In another moment Monday, she added, “If you don’t want someone watching your kids, you shouldn’t make this guy president of the United States.”

The former congresswoman said she had spoken to many other Republicans who were worried about another Trump presidency but couldn’t voice their fears publicly.

“I just want to remind people,” Cheney added, “if you’re at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and never have to say a word to anyone.”

Harris added on Monday that Trump’s recent performances – including a rally where he danced for nearly 40 minutes – only cast more doubt on his ability to lead the nation.

“I think it leads us and it should lead us to the observation that he is becoming increasingly unstable,” the vice president said. “But you don’t have to take my word for it. Listen to the people who know him best, the people who worked for him in the White House, in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room.”