ASTON, Pa. (CBS/AP) — Kamala Harris said: “Yes I do” when asked if she thinks Donald Trump is a fascist during a CNN town hall in Aston, Delaware County.
Moderator Anderson Cooper asked the question after the first one to Harris during a town hall on CNN on Wednesday evening Marine Corps General John Kelly told the New York Times that Trump is “definitely an authoritarian.”
“And I also believe that the people who know him best in this area should be trusted,” Harris told Cooper. “Again, look at their careers, these are not people, I think with the exception of just Mike Pence, these are not politicians. These are career people who have served in the highest positions of national security. Who have served as generals in our military who are highly respected, talking about the person who will become commander in chief.”
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Kelly was the longest-serving chief of staff in the Trump administration. He also told the NYT that Trump “occasionally” said that Adolf Hitler “did some good things too.”
“He remarked more than once, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things too,’” Kelly told him. ‘And of course, if you know the history, I also think he falls short in that. If you know what history was about, it would be pretty hard to argue that he did anything good.”
After Harris answered Cooper’s question about Trump, she answered questions from Delaware Valley voters on a number of topics, including the economy, the price of groceries and immigration.
Harris promised to tackle grocery price increases at City Hall.
A Drexel University student asked Harris about her immigration plans, a topic where polls show voters have favored Trump.
Harris called the US immigration system “broken” and said she would call on Congress to act.
“I have committed to introducing that bipartisan bill to further strengthen and secure our border,” Harris said. “I’m going to work across the aisle to pass a comprehensive bill that addresses a broken immigration system.”
However, Harris did not answer questions about whether she thought the Biden administration should have acted sooner at the border.
A registered Media Republican also asked Harris about her varying positions on issues such as fracking and how voters can know she is now authentic.
“Our country deserves to have a president of the United States who is not afraid of good ideas and not proud,” Harris said. “If a perspective needs to be based on different points of view to reach consensus and a common sense approach, I will never shy away from good ideas.”
Harris was also asked about the possibility of expanding the Supreme Court to 12 justices. She said she believes the court needs reform, but wants to explore the best path forward.
Harris promised to work again with Republicans and bring more unity to the country.
Before Harris went to Delco for CNN’s town hall, she stopped at Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood. The deli is a regular stop for politicians during the campaign cycle.
The Harris and Trump campaigns each have a full agenda in Pennsylvania this week.
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Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will make campaign stops in Philadelphia on Friday.
Trump will meet in State College on Saturday. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, will hold a town hall in Harrisburg on Saturday.
Former president barack obama will be in philadelphia on monday for a rally and concert with rock star Bruce Springsteen from New Jersey.
