MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump was asked Wednesday to name three virtues of his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, a week after Harris was asked to do the same for the Republican nominee.
His answer sounded a lot like hers.
“That’s a very difficult question,” Trump said at the end of a town hall-style event hosted by Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-language network. “That is the most difficult question. The others are simple.”
Trump first said Harris “has done terrible damage to our country” before complimenting what he said was her “ability to survive.”
Then came the shot.
“Because she was out of the race,” Trump said, referring to Harris’ early departure from the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination campaign and her replacement this summer of President Joe Biden atop the 2024 ticket. “And suddenly she’s running for president.”
He also noted that “she seems to have some pretty old friendships” and that “she seems to have a nice manner about her.”
“I like the way, you know, some of her statements, some of her – the way she acts a certain way,” he said. “But in another way I think it’s very bad for our country.”
It’s a presidential tradition to ask major party candidates to say something nice about the other, and that sometimes leads to memorable moments and jokes. But Trump and Harris do not know each other personally and only have me publicly at their debate in September. And in a tense election in which both parties have called the other a threat to democracy, neither candidate is under much pressure from their supporters to deliver a compliment.
Harris said last week that Trump’s approach to politics “hurts me.” Calling out what she called his “us-versus-them” approach, she added, “I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation and I don’t admire that.”
Finally, she offered, “I think Donald Trump loves his family and I think that’s very important,” before continuing, “But I don’t really know him. I’ve only met him once…so I don’t really have much else to offer you.”
Both Trump and Harris were questioned by the same audience member, 48-year-old Teresa Djedjro, who attended both events.
Eight years ago, when a voter asked Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to say something that both respected about each other, Clinton offered to answer first, saying she respected Trump’s children, whom she called “incredibly capable.” and dedicated’.
Trump called it a “very nice compliment” and then said: “I will say this about Hillary: She doesn’t give up, she doesn’t give up. I respect that.”
However, both candidates said they disagreed on almost everything.
___
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
