Justice reform groups urge Kamala Harris not to call Trump 'criminal'

Americans grade Vice President Harris' performance on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and weigh in on the proposal for Supreme Court term limits.

Vice President Harris has found herself between a rock and woke place when it comes to criminal justice. More than 160 criminal justice advocacy groups sent Harris an open letter urging her not to call former President Trump a "criminal" and a "felon" while pressuring her to embrace their progressive agenda. The former San Francisco district attorney and California state attorney general has repeatedly cast herself as an aggressive prosecutor who knows Trump's "type" – a reference to his recent felony conviction in New York City.

"There will be those that simplify a match-up between you and former President Trump as one between a 'tough-on-crime' prosecutor and a 'criminal,'" the letter states. "We hope you will resist this language and this framing. It is both harmful to us and harmful to your campaign.

" HOW LONG WILL KAMALA HARRIS HONEYMOON IN POLLS LAST AGAINST DONALD TRUMP? Vice President Harris and former President Trump (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | Brandon Bell/Getty Images) The group praised Harris for backing criminal justice reform and cautioned her against using language that unfairly denigrates and stigmatizes those who have been convicted of crimes. "First, we believe you have been and will be a criminal justice reform leader," they wrote. "And, also, words like ‘criminal’ and ‘felon’ paint with a broad b.