Cruz warns against underestimating Harris: 'This is not a layup'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned Republicans against underestimating Vice President Harris after President Biden withdrew from the race on Sunday and endorsed his vice president for the White House.

"Republicans, I worry, vastly underestimate Kamala Harris. They don't think very highly of her. They don't think she's terribly bright. When you or I bring up Kamala Harris' name in Republican circles, people laugh. It's immediately a punchline," Cruz said on his podcast, “The Verdict,” in an episode aired Monday.

“I think people are underestimating what billions of dollars of free media of the entire corrupt corporate media complex, pitching her as a combination of Mother Teresa, Oprah and Gandhi,” he added.

Biden quickly endorsed Harris to spearhead the Democratic presidential ticket shortly after unveiling his decision to drop out of the race. Democrats quickly rallied behind Harris, who raised $81 million in just the first 24 hours of her campaign.

Cruz said he still believes former President Trump will win in November but cautioned it won't be handed to him.

“Now I still think Trump wins in November. But this is not a layup. It is not given,” he said. “And what's coming in front of us look, if you're a Democrat, what makes you nervous is chaos, and this much chaos 100 days out is scary. But you know what? Even more scary is going into an election where you're almost certain to lose, which is where Biden was.”

Earlier in the podcast, he spoke about the Republican National Convention and said he was worried people were “overconfident” at the convention last week. He said now that Biden has withdrawn from the race, Democrats are going to get a month of free media leading up to their own convention.

He urged members of his party not to celebrate too soon.

“Look, there's a time for celebration. Celebrate after Election Day, celebrate after we've won. Now is not the time for celebration. Now's the time for hard work. Now's the time for rolling up your sleeves and going to win,” he said.