Harris Calls Trump ‘Fascist’ at CNN Town Hall, Says He’s Unfit for Office

Vice President Kamala Harris called former President Donald Trump a “fascist” at a CNN town hall Wednesday in Pennsylvania, echoing criticism from her former chief of staff as she makes a clearer pitch to voters that he is unfit for office. post.

John Kellya retired four-star Marine general who was Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, showed up this week to warn that his former boss meets “the general definition of a fascist.” And he said that in private conversations, Trump admired dictators and said he wished he had military generals as loyal as those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Harris said Kelly’s comments, which came just two weeks before the election, are “a 911 call to the American people.”

“We must take very seriously the people who knew him best,” he continued, referring to the numerous former Trump advisors who have broken with him and have warned the public that he should not be trusted with power again.

“Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?” Host Anderson Cooper asked Harris.

“Yes. Yes, I do,” she replied.

She later used the word herself to refer to Trump for the first time in public, saying that voters care “not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.”

“I think Donald Trump is dangerous,” he continued. “As president of the United States, commander in chief, you are saying to your generals, in essence, why can’t you be more like Hitler’s generals? Come on!”

Follow live updates on the 2024 elections

Harris has been arguing more forcefully in recent days that Trump is unfit for office. On Wednesday, after Kelly’s comments became public, she made comments emphasizing them and criticizing Trump.

Harris noted that she has the support of Republicans concerned about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, such as former Representative Liz Cheney, who has been campaigning for her this week. And Harris promised that, unlike Trump, she would be a “president for all Americans.”

Trump posted on happen.” his twisted mind.”

Harris did not call Trump “Hitler,” but instead said the American people “deserve to have a president who encourages healthy debate, who works across both parties, who is not afraid of good ideas, wherever they come from, but who also maintain certain standards for how we think about role and responsibility and certainly not compare ourselves in a clearly admirable way to Hitler,” referring to Trump’s statement. reported comments about Hitler.

In his social media post, Trump did not directly respond to Harris calling him a “fascist.”

After the town hall, Harris spoke directly to an attendee who asked her about abortion and told him that she was not trying to convert him to her way of thinking and that her position on abortion was not about disagreeing with the views religious of no one, but of keeping the government out of the decision.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, polls show a deadlocked race, and analysts say it is essentially a toss-up, with each battleground state able to vote either way.

Later at the town hall, Harris spoke about her religious faith in a way she rarely does.

“I pray every day. Sometimes twice a day,” he said, before recounting his childhood church in Oakland, California. “I was raised to believe in a loving God. Believe that your faith is a verb. You live your faith and the way one should do it is your job and your life’s work is to think of ways that you can serve to uplift other people.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, in Traverse City, Michigan, Trump used a 90-minute speech to continue the personal insults, calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, “a sick guy.” referring to Harris as “low IQ.” individual” and added: “This woman is crazy.”

Trump also repeatedly criticized Detroit, the largest city in the crucial swing state of Michigan, saying it “has been decimated by stupid politicians.”

“For 40 years I have heard about Detroit coming back. “I never went back,” he said later.

Trump’s often meandering speech touched on many of his usual themes, demonizing immigrants as coming from prisons and asylums, highlighting cases of crimes allegedly committed by immigrants and spending much time discussing the southern border.

“I will rescue every town in America that has been invaded and conquered, and we will imprison these vicious, bloodthirsty criminals or kick them out of the country,” he said of the immigrants.

During a portion of his comments about the flood damage from Hurricane Helene, he referred to the disaster as “a water hurricane,” a comment that the Harris campaign was quick to highlight on social media.

Trump also called Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard on stage to address his supporters. Trump has frequently touted his support, arguing that it shows his supporters also come from left-wing backgrounds.