Kamala Harris, President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, sent a 911 call to the public saying the former president was unfit to serve a second term, calling him a fascist who would lead the country down a dangerous path. He praised him for attacking his opponents.
Harris attended a CNN town hall of unvoted voters in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, as battleground states appear to play a potentially decisive role in the presidential election. While answering questions from voters about everything from the cost of living to access to abortion, Harris repeatedly steered the conversation back to questions about Trump’s suitability for the presidency.
The town hall announcement came a day after The Atlantic published an article detailing testimony from former Trump advisers that the then-president wanted a “general like Hitler.” The article quoted Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, describing a consistent pattern of the former president disparaging members of the military. The Trump campaign denies these accounts.
“Donald Trump is unstable, increasingly unstable, and I believe he is unfit to be president,” Harris told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper at City Hall. “The people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House… They have made it clear that he despises the Constitution of the United States. They believe that he will never serve as President of the United States again. I argue that it shouldn’t.”
Harris predicted that if Trump is elected to a second term, he won’t have an adviser like Kelly who could help put guardrails on the former president’s actions during his time in office.
“(Kelly) is just calling 911 for the American people,” Harris said. “And this time we have to take it very seriously. The people in his career who know him best are not going to be there to hold him back.”
When Cooper specifically asked if she thought Trump was a fascist, Harris said, “Yes, I do.”
Kamala Harris attends CNN town hall event in Pennsylvania. Photo: Kevin Mohat/Reuters
Ms. Harris criticized Mr. Trump’s character and policies, while at times dodging difficult policy questions from Mr. Cooper and the audience. In one of the most substantive responses of the night, Harris said she believes Democrats need to “consider the filibuster” to expand abortion access in the country.
Democrats have vowed to reinstate Roe v. Wade if they win the White House and regain full control of Congress, but such a proposal could be blocked by a Senate filibuster. The bill would need support from at least 60 of the 100 House members to advance. . The filibuster poses a fundamental obstacle to implementing much of Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, and could create further challenges if Harris wins the presidency.
While Harris’ openness to filibuster amendments may be popular with Democratic voters, some of her other answers fall short of the progressives she will need to vote for on Election Day. Maybe. Harris reiterated her opposition to a ban on fracking and was somewhat vague about ending the war in Gaza.
Voter Annalize Keene asked Harris, “What will you do to ensure that another Palestinian is not killed by a bomb funded by American taxpayers?”
“Too many innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed. It is unconscionable, and with (Yahya Sinwar’s) death we must now end this war, bring the hostages home, and bring home the hostages,” Harris said. We believe there is an opportunity to bring relief to the Palestinian people and work toward a two-state solution.”
Much of the town hall focused on criticism of Trump and policy questions, but the discussion occasionally turned personal. Harris spoke about the role of religion in her life, saying she prays daily and spoke to her pastor the day Biden withdrew from the presidential race.
Toward the end of the town hall, Anderson asked Harris about her experience grieving her mother, who died of cancer 15 years ago.
“I can’t stop grieving,” Harris said. “It’s important to try to remember them when they were alive, not when they died.”
With less than two weeks left until Election Day, Harris and Trump are expected to face close races in a handful of battleground states, including Pennsylvania. In her closing message at town hall, Harris returned to Trump’s stability and pointed to recent comments describing Democrats as “enemies from within” as evidence that Trump is unfit to serve. did.
“He’s going to sit there. He’s going to be unstable, he’s going to act freely, he’s going to plot revenge, he’s going to plan retribution, he’s going to draw up a list of enemies,” Harris said. “My list will be a list of how I have and will continue to address the issues that you are raising this afternoon and evening. How will this impact the American people? It’s going to be a to-do list of how much you can give.”
