SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump insulted his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other women while praying for people in the path of Hurricane Milton as it began to pummel Florida. She decided to continue to do so, even if it excluded female voters who said she was not interested.
“I don’t want to be nice,” President Trump said at the first of two rallies that day in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. “Look, someone said, “You should be nicer.” Women wouldn’t like it.” I said, “I don’t care.”
Watch President Trump’s remarks in the player above.
Trump maintained his campaign schedule even as the storm threatened to cause devastating damage to Tampa and other parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast and cast a shadow over the presidential race. Harris was scheduled to fly to Nevada later Wednesday to campaign in the West, but first attended a White House briefing for President Joe Biden on the storm and the federal government’s response.
In a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, President Trump personally insulted Harris, calling her “totally incompetent” and “totally incompetent to serve as President of the United States,” on ABC’s “The・I tracked down one of the hosts of “The View.” ” Harris appeared on Tuesday.
Read more: From Howard Stern to The View, Harris gets a little more personal amid media onslaught
He called Sunny Hostin, who is black and Latino, “stupid than Kamala.”
“That’s one stupid woman. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, ladies. She’s a dummy,” Harris said, asking if there was anything she would have done differently from Biden over the past four years. Asked about Mr. Hostin. Mr. Harris replied, “I can’t think of anything.” This is a line taken by the Trump campaign in its final stages of the campaign, as it attempts to argue that this is merely a continuation of the unpopular Biden presidency.
In a social media post Tuesday, President Trump said Harris was “being exposed as a ‘dummy'” and called daytime talk show hosts “corrupt.”
He was scheduled to appear in Reading, Pennsylvania, later Wednesday to talk about the economy and immigration in a city that is two-thirds Hispanic.
Just two weeks after Hurricane Helen devastated large swathes of the Southeast, Hurricane Milton has already disrupted the campaign. President Trump, who moved to Florida after leaving the White House, postponed a virtual health-care-focused event scheduled for Tuesday night and also postponed a Univision town hall scheduled to be held in Miami. did.
Harris is scheduled to hold her own Univision town hall in Las Vegas on Thursday, before returning to Arizona and planning a second visit to both states in the next two weeks.
At a rally in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, President Trump said he would pray for those in the hurricane’s path and “send love to everyone in Florida.” They have a big moment tonight. ”
“We’re praying for them and asking God to keep them all and everyone safe. We’ve never seen a hurricane like that,” he continued. “You know, they talk about it and they keep talking about it because they want you to see it. Here’s the real deal. This is bad.”
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, campaigning in Arizona, where early voting began Wednesday, called on Americans to come together to help those affected.
“They are Americans. They are our neighbors. They are our family. They are our friends,” he said, adding that coming together across party lines in the face of natural disasters He said it was “important.”
“It’s not about politics. It’s about basic human decency,” Walz said. “It’s about leadership and character.
Milton approaches just days after Hurricane Helen killed more than 220 people and left widespread destruction in six Southeastern states, and as federal, state and local officials prepare for the next storm, damage continues to grow. trying to reduce the
Messrs. Biden and Harris denounced misinformation and disinformation surrounding the federal government’s response to Helen, including the false claim that there was a cap on the amount of aid funds families could receive. They also denounced the false belief that funds were being illegally diverted to heavily Republican areas and people within the country, and that federal authorities offering aid could end up stealing property from owners. Both men named Trump as promoting many of the falsehoods.
“Let me be clear about something: In recent weeks, there has been a reckless, irresponsible and persistent promotion of disinformation and outright lies that have made people anxious,” Biden said at the Milton briefing. “Confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been carried out and will continue to be carried out is being undermined. And it is detrimental to those who need help most.”
WATCH: Biden speaks out about Hurricane Milton expected to hit Florida as a devastating storm
“What a ridiculous thing to say,” Biden said of false rumors that funds were being illegally diverted to immigrants in the country. Biden also addressed Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s false suggestion that “I control the weather,” calling her comments “something out of a cartoon.” He said it was something like that.
“That’s outrageous,” Biden said. “That has to stop.”
He also told Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator DeAnne Criswell: “You’re doing a hell of a job.”
Harris said once the hurricane passes, “we’re going to help people rebuild.”
“This is a storm that is expected to be historic in size,” she said. Addressing Florida residents, Harris added: This is going to be different. ”
Harris also participated in a phone conversation with Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about continuing tensions in the Middle East. The Trump campaign announced that the former president spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to Iran’s recent missile attacks on Israel.
“World leaders want to meet and talk with President Trump because they know he will soon return to the White House and restore peace to the world,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said in a statement. That’s because there are.”
Meanwhile, Biden has already postponed trips to Germany and Angola scheduled for this week, saying, “I don’t think I can leave the country at this point.”
Ms. Harris spent Tuesday in New York recording an interview with radio personality Howard Stern for “The View” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” During her interview on “The View” and later during a taping with Colbert, Harris failed to mention how a future administration would be significantly different from the Biden administration.
Mr. Trump and his campaign used the statement to post that Ms. Harris said “she wouldn’t be any different” from Mr. Biden, whom he called “the worst president in American history.”
Harris had her own sharp words for her opponent. Bob Woodward’s new book, War, alleges that in 2020, while President Trump was president, he secretly sent a COVID-19 test kit that was difficult to obtain in the United States to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reacting to the report, she said: Do you remember what it was like back then? ”
“Do you remember how many people weren’t tested and were scrambling to get tested?” Harris asked during the taping with Colbert. “Do you remember how unusual that was?”
She said of President Trump, “And this guy is giving President Vladimir Putin a coronavirus test kit. Think about what that means,” before adding, “He’s giving Vladimir Putin a coronavirus test kit.” What about the American people? They are supposed to be your first friends.”
President Trump denied the report. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the US had sent test kits. He called them “testers” but denied that any secret exchanges took place.
“There was no secret transport. The pandemic had begun at that time,” Peskov said in a message on Wednesday. “Many countries were exchanging equipment. They sent ventilators. Testers came from America.”
Mr. Weissert reported from Washington and Mr. Colvin from New York. Mark Scolforo in Scranton contributed to this report.
