Vice President Kamala Harris sounded a “911” to the nation over a potential second term for ex-President Donald Trump in her CNN town hall appearance before undecided voters in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania less than two weeks before Election Day.
Her comments come on the heels of The Atlantic and The New York Times publishing criticism from retired Marine General John Kelly, Trump‘s longest-serving White House chief of staff, who called the former president a “fascist.”
Kelly went on to say Trump had also praised Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler in his presence and raised alarms about Trump’s alleged authoritarian leanings.
Harris said Kelly “is putting out a 911 call to the American people.”
CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Harris: “Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?”
“Yes, I do,” Harris responded. “And I also believe that the people who know him best, on this subject, should be trusted.”
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris looks on during a CNN Presidential Town Hall on October 23 in Aston, Pennsylvania. Harris sounded a “911” over a potential second term for ex-President Donald Trump in her appearance before undecided voters in the crucial swing state less than two weeks before Election Day.
Harris has increasingly sounded the alarm on what she sees as Trump’s unfitness for office and pointed to former Trump administration staffers who “have all called him unfit and dangerous.”
“They have said, explicitly, he has contempt for the Constitution of the United States. They have said he should never again serve as president of the United States.”
She invoked her concerns again later in the discussion about conflict in the Middle East and if she would be more pro-Israel than Trump. In answering, she said, “I believe that Donald Trump is dangerous.”
And she came back to the topic again, signaling that Trump would focus on the “enemies within” and suggested they included journalists and his political opponents.
Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican, who has been stumping for Harris in key battleground states, similarly sought to appeal to concerns over democracy.
“If your response to Gen John Kelly, gold star father & Trump’s WH chief of staff, confirming that Trump praised Hitler & called members of our military “suckers and losers” is to defend Trump, you need to look in the mirror and realize your dishonor will live forever,” Cheney wrote on X.
Donald Trump Jr. criticized Kelly’s comments, telling NBC News the former White House chief of staff is now a member of the “swamp.”
“He’s part of that swamp. He’s doing their bidding. That’s how you get a board seat in Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Harris’ offensive comes as both candidates make the rounds in town halls, rallies and carefully curated media appearances in battleground states.
Pollster Nate Silver‘s forecast gives Harris a 72 percent chance of winning the popular vote compared to Trump’s 27 percent.
