The Trump campaign wants all eyes on Tupac Shakur during tonight’s vice-presidential debate as they’ve reserved a ticket for the late rapper in a taunt directed at Sen. Kamala Harris.
Harris and Vice President Mike Pence will be debating in their first and only exchange, but the barbs are already being thrown. Pence’s would-be replacement is being mocked for her assertion last month at NAACP’s virtual convention about her musical tastes.
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“Best rapper alive?” CNN commentator Angela Rye asked.
Harris named Tupac but Rye reminded the California senator that he died. Tupac was shot and killed at the age of 25 in 1996 in Las Vegas but conspiracy theorists have insisted the rap star is alive and in hiding.
“Not alive. I know, I keep doing that!” Harris laughed.
Harris attempted to recover from her gaffe but never got around to naming another rapper.
“There’s some I would not mention right now because they should stay in their lane,” she said.
Despite the slim chance of Tupac actually showing up to the debate being held in Salt Lake City, the Trump campaign has decided to have some fun at Harris’ expense.
“We have left a ticket for Tupac Shakur,” Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller reportedly told reporters.
Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, doubled down on the troll.
Though it’s widely believed that Harris says she smoked marijuana while listening to Tupac and Snoop, her quote was actually taken out of context in an interview with The Breakfast Club. While it was pointed out that Harris would have graduated before either of those rap stars became nationally known, in fact, she was talking separately about smoking and music when misquoted, according to Reuters.
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A rep for Harris stated at the time that there was simply a miscommunication.
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