Harris spokesman calls out Gabbard over pushback on call to suspend Trump Twitter account

A spokesman for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Wednesday lashed out at fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) after the congresswoman criticized Harris’s call on Twitter to suspend President Trump’s account.

Harris’s national press secretary, Ian Sams, tweeted a response to Gabbard’s assertion that a suspension of Trump’s account would violate the First Amendment, saying she was using the same talking point as personalities on Fox News.

{mosads}“This was the exact talking point @FoxNews personalities were promulgating on air all day yesterday,” Sams tweeted.

This was the exact talking point @FoxNews personalities were promulgating on air all day yesterday. https://t.co/aB1MDhpxqH

— Ian Sams (@IanSams) October 2, 2019

When Gabbard was asked by a reporter her thoughts on Harris’s attempts to have Trump removed from Twitter, the Hawaii representative said she did not agree with the idea.

She added that “freedom of speech is something that is an important, foundational, right in our democracy.”

“We can’t just cancel or shut down or silence those who we disagree with or who hold different views or who say things that even that we strongly disagree with or abhor,” she told NBC.

Asked if she agrees with @KamalaHarris that President @realDonaldTrump‘s Twitter account should be suspended, @TulsiGabbard says, “No. I think freedom of speech is something that is an important, foundational, right in our democracy.” pic.twitter.com/6o1DYNVRFK

— Julia Jester (@JulesJester) October 2, 2019 

Harris on Tuesday in an appearance on CNN said that Twitter should suspend Trump’s account, following a tweet she made at the head of the social media company asking him to “do something.”

The top-tier 2020 hopeful’s call for action against Trump was in response to his tweeted claims that the House impeachment inquiry is a “coup.” 

Hey, @jack. Time to do something about this. https://t.co/es2fJ5PNRV

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 2, 2019

The two presidential hopefuls have butted heads a number of times on the campaign trail.

In a Democratic debate in July, Gabbard went after Harris’s record as attorney general in California, saying she should apologize to those who “suffered under [her] reign.”

Harris responded the next day by taking a shot at Gabbard’s low polling numbers while referring to herself as a “top-tier candidate.”

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Harris is currently sitting in fifth place among the Democratic contenders with 4.6 percent of the vote. Gabbard is in 10th place and has hovered around 1 percent of the vote.