Vice President Harris mostly stuck to her guns Wednesday during a CNN town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper, taking questions from voters in the key state of Pennsylvania.
Harris also answered questions from Cooper on a variety of topics, including the economy, immigration, the Middle East war and her assessment of former President Trump.
The vice president followed a script for much of the forum in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, but also addressed personal topics such as grief, faith, and mistakes in his life and career. Since another debate against Trump seemed unlikely, she agreed to hold it at City Hall. Trump chose not to participate in the town hall, but CNN also invited him.
Here are four takeaways from the night.
Harris relies too much on stump speeches
When it comes to issues like the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, immigration, the economy and a different way of life than President Biden, Harris relies mostly on her typical speaking style in interviews and stump speeches, keeping her answers safe and making headlines. I avoided becoming one. When voters ask questions about hot topics.
On immigration, Cooper asked Harris if she thought the Biden administration should have issued an executive order earlier restricting asylum at the U.S. southern border to curb the influx of migrants.
“I think we did the right thing,” she said, adding that “the best thing” would be a bipartisan effort by Congress on immigration reform.
Later, when pressed on immigration earlier this year, the vice president once again blamed Trump for ending bipartisan senatorial negotiations, saying Biden should have acted unilaterally sooner. Throughout the election period, he declined to comment on whether that was the case.
Later, when a voter asked him, “What would you do to ensure that no Palestinian is killed again by a bomb funded by American taxpayers?” the vice president again called for an end to the war and for security. He returned to his usual speaking style. For Palestinians and Israelis.
“Too many innocent Palestinian civilians are being killed and this is unconscionable,” she said, adding that given the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, there is a need to end the war and force Hamas to He added that he believed there was now an opportunity to bring the detained hostages home.
The Biden administration's handling of the Gaza war has sparked protests from pro-Palestinian Americans, with Democrats worried that anger over the issue could undermine Democratic support among Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and younger voters. Concerns are growing among staff.
Harris agrees Trump is a fascist
Harris agreed that she believes Trump is a “fascist,” but again avoided using that word to directly label her political opponents.
When Cooper asked her, “Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?” and pointed out that she didn't explicitly say that word to describe him, she replied, “I do.” Ta. yes i will. “
Later, when asked what she would say to voters considering supporting a third-party candidate because of her pro-Israel stance and the Biden administration's handling of the Gaza war, she said Trump was a fascist. hinted that it was.
“Many people who care about this issue also care about lowering food prices, and they also care about our democracy and the fact that we don't have a U.S. president who praises dictators and fascists. ,” she said.
During their conversation, Cooper also asked Harris if she thought Trump was anti-Semitic, but Harris disagreed and instead called Trump “a dangerous person” and “the welfare and security of the United States.” “A person who poses a danger to security.''
Former chief of staff John Kelly said Trump “definitely fits the standard definition of a fascist.” New York Times New Interviewwhich sparked a debate this week about whether Trump should be labeled as such.
Harris gave a speech earlier Wednesday in response to Kelly's comments, in which Kelly claimed Trump wanted more instability and unchecked power and called Trump a fascist. He quoted a retired general who labeled him as such.
Harris talks personal about religion and grief
The vice president used the opportunity to show voters a more personal side of himself when asked about his faith and how he deals with grief.
“I was raised to believe in a loving God. Believing in your faith is a verb,” Harris told voters, adding, “You live your life.”
“Your job, and your life's work, should be to think about how you can serve others in a way that uplifts them,” she said. “It gives me a lot of guidance on how I think about my work.”
She recalled a conversation with her pastor the day Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and supported her, saying he “needed prayer” at that moment. She added that she prays every day and “sometimes twice a day.”
Harris, who often thinks about her late mother, also addressed a question from a woman who lost her husband a year ago about how she deals with grief.
Asked by Cooper if she still grieved for her mother, who died in 2009, Harris said: “I never stop grieving.”
“Grief can be really taxing, so it's important to try to remember them as they were in life, not as they were when they died,” she said. “I don't think there's a right or proper way to grieve, and I think the most important thing is that people don't suppress what they're feeling at the time.”
Harris addresses his weaknesses and mistakes
When asked by Cooper what mistakes he had made in the past, Harris admitted he had made “a lot of mistakes.”
“If you've ever raised a child, you know you've made a lot of mistakes,” she says. “I think in my role as vice president, I've probably worked hard to make sure I'm familiar with the issues, and I think that's very important. I think it would be a mistake to be forced to answer.”
Harris was originally asked by voters what weaknesses she has and how she plans to overcome them while in office.
Harris admitted that she is “certainly not perfect,” but went on to ask what her strengths are.
“When I'm asked about a particular policy issue, I sometimes can't answer right away because I want to research it. I want to study it,” she said. “To be honest, I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes, and some might call that a weakness, especially when it comes to interviews.
