KAMALA HARRIS HAS said she believes Donald Trump is a “fascist” and claimed that he is “increasingly unstable”.
She was speaking during a CNN-hosted town hall event where she answered voters’ questions in the must-win State of Pennsylvania.
The remarks follow revelations from Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, about the former president’s praise for Adolf Hitler and his military during World War II.
Kelly told The New York Times that Trump remarked that “Hitler did some good things too” and that instead of the US military, Trump “wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had.”
Kelly also repeated his warning that he believes Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.
When asked on CNN is she thinks Trump is a fascist, Harris replied: “Yes I do.”
She added: “I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.”
ANDERSON COOPER: Do you believe Donald Trump is a fascist?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 24, 2024
KAMALA HARRIS: Yes I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted pic.twitter.com/CgIvKmCkXU
The CNN event was hosted by Anderson Cooper, and he asked Harris about how she would appeal to people who are thinking about not voting for her over the war in Gaza.
“I am not going to deny the strong feelings that people have,” said Harris.
“I don’t know anyone who has seen the images who would not have strong feelings about what has happened.
“But I also do know, that for many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries, they also care about our democracy and not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.”
Asked what she says to people who are thinking about not voting for her over Gaza, Kamala Harris says she understands but thinks people who care about that issue also care about not having a president "who's a fascist" pic.twitter.com/qiYsBEaGwr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 24, 2024
Later, she told the town hall event that Trump is a “danger to the well-being and security of America”.
Trump – who declined to appear in his own CNN town hall – hit back at a rally in Georgia, a key swing state he win in 2016 and then narrowly lost to President Joe Biden four years later.
He attacked Harris over her economic policy and dusted off his catchphrase from his days on NBC reality TV show The Apprentice as he exhorted the crowd in Duluth to tell Harris: “You’re fired!”
“You have to stand up and you have to tell Kamala Harris that, ‘Kamala, you’ve done a horrible job. You’re the worst ever. There’s never been anybody like you… Kamala, you’re fired. Get out,’” he thundered.
Moments before Trump was due onstage, The Guardian newspaper reported a former model’s allegations that he groped her after the two were introduced by sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s.
He did not address the claim at any point during his speech.
Some 26.5 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person, more than a million of them in Pennsylvania.
The State is a coveted prize for the candidates, and Harris and Trump have made repeated appearances there and across other swing states that decide US elections.
With polls suggesting a tight election in its final stretch, Harris has unveiled plans for a “closing argument” rally on Tuesday at the Washington site where Trump addressed supporters before they stormed the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021.
The Harris camp has also confirmed that Michelle Obama will join her at an event Saturday in battleground Michigan, the former US first lady’s debut campaign stop with Harris.
It will follow Harris’s first campaign appearance with former president Barack Obama, on Thursday in Georgia’s largest city Atlanta, as part of a major Democratic get-out-the-vote effort.
Bruce Springsteen is set to kick off the event with a concert.
-With additional reporting from © AFP 2024
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