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    • Harris echoes former White House chief of staff's statement calling Trump a fascist
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    Harris echoes former White House chief of staff's statement calling Trump a fascist

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she believes former President Donald Trump is a fascist and that his ex-chief of staff is making “a 9-1-1 call” to the American people to consider the impact of his possible return the White House.

    Appearing at a CNN town hall in Pennsylvania's Delaware County, Harris cited former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly's claim that Trump had spoken favorably about Hitler and agreed with his assessment that Trump was a “fascist.” .

    “Yes, I do,” she said. “And I also believe that the people who know him best in this matter should be trusted.”

    Harris was responding to a question from Anderson Cooper, who asked her how she plans to convince millions of Americans planning to vote in the election that Trump made those comments.

    Trump's campaign has denied Kelly's report and the former president has attacked him on social media.

    “I don't necessarily think everyone has heard what you and I have heard repeatedly, which is the people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House, in the Situation Room, in the Oval Office .” “All Republicans, by the way, who served in his administration, his former chief of staff, his national security adviser, former defense secretaries and his vice president have all called him unfit and dangerous,” she said.

    Earlier in the day, before leaving Washington, Harris used another comment from Kelly to argue that Trump wants “unchecked power” and a military loyal to him under the Constitution.

    Harris is aiming for a stark contrast to Trump

    Harris repeatedly turned the conversation to Trump, his fitness for office and comments he made that she said were disqualifying. Voters at the town hall asked her tough questions about her economic plans and how she would govern differently than President Joe Biden.

    Harris said she believes Americans are “exhausted” by the blame and that they deserve better.

    “And they deserve a president who will focus on solutions, not sit in the Oval Office plotting revenge and retaliation,” she said.

    CNN said voters attending the town hall were undecided and the questions were written themselves.

    It was one of the few times since Harris began her campaign that she faced undecided voters. She has been appearing at rallies and stalls for months, mostly attended by her supporters.

    As with Harris' recent events, the former Republican president played a large role.

    A voter asked Harris whether it was Trump's or Biden's fault that food prices have risen in recent years and what she would do to bring them down.

    After a lengthy answer referencing her plan to combat plan breaches, Harris told Cooper: “By the way, Donald Trump was supposed to be here tonight to talk to you and answer your questions. That's not him. He refused to come.”

    Trump declined an invitation from the network to debate Harris a second time. He also declined CNN's invitation to attend its own town hall, the network said.

    Instead, Trump appeared at events in Duluth and Zebulon, Georgia, on Wednesday.

    Harris pushed for differences with Biden

    While the vice president continued to focus on Trump, it was the incumbent president with whom another voter, a University of Pennsylvania student, sought to draw a sharper contrast from Harris.

    “My administration will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” Harris assured. “I bring my own ideas and my own experiences to this role.”

    A former prosecutor, Harris, 60, said she would adopt new approaches from Biden, 81, and bring different experiences to the job. She cited housing construction as an example.

    “I have brought billions of dollars to homeowners who were the subject of predatory lending. I know what homeownership means to the American people,” said Harris, the former California attorney general. “Not to mention what it meant to my mother, who worked very hard and saved so she could buy our first house when she was a teenager.”

    The number of civilian deaths in Gaza was increased in the city hall

    The war between Israel and Hamas and the high civilian death toll in Gaza was another area where Harris was pushed by a voter to take a position different from the president's.

    Asked how she would ensure that “no more Palestinians die because of bombs funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars,” Harris said the deaths were “unconscionable” and reiterated the Biden administration's position that the death of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar represents an opening for the end of the war.

    Pressed by Cooper about what her message was to viewers who might vote as a third party – or not at all – in the election because of their views on the war, Harris said she would “hear people's strong feelings” about what Don't deny what has happened since last October, Hamas attacked Israel, particularly those whose relatives were killed.

    “I appreciate that,” she said. “But I also know that many people who care about this issue also care about lowering food prices. They also care about our democracy and that there is no President of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.”

    Harris talks about faith, weaknesses and mistakes

    Cooper asked Harris about her faith at the town hall. She recalled that the day Biden dropped out, she met her pastor, Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown of Third Baptist Church, asked for spiritual advice and prayer.

    Harris said she prays every day and sometimes twice a day. “I was raised to believe in a loving God and to believe that faith is a verb,” she said.

    The vice president admitted to making “a lot of mistakes” in her life and brought up her role as a mother in response to another question from Cooper.

    But as for her job, she said, “I've probably worked really hard to make sure I'm knowledgeable about topics, and I think that's very important.” It's a mistake to not be knowledgeable about a topic and feel compelled to answer a question.

    She also avoided a voter question about her weaknesses.

    “I’m certainly not perfect,” she said. “Maybe a weakness, some would say, but I actually think it's a strength: I really value having a team of very smart people around me who bring different perspectives to my decision-making process.”

    Philadelphia comes into focus

    The town hall was held in Delaware County, a suburb of Philadelphia where Harris needs strong turnout. It is one of five Philadelphia-area counties that combined accounted for more than 40% of President Joe Biden's vote in Pennsylvania four years ago.

    Harris has stepped up her appearances in Philadelphia in the home stretch of the presidential campaign after spending most of September campaigning in other parts of the state.

    She was in nearby Chester County on Monday, where she took part in a moderated conversation with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney. She will be back in Philadelphia on Sunday.

    Upon her arrival in Philadelphia on Wednesday before the civic event, the vice president stopped by Famous 4th Street Deli. The city's mayor, Cherelle Parker, attended the event, which was reserved exclusively for her volunteers.

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    Kathleen William
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