CNN host Abby Phillips warned Vice President Kamala Harris that she can't ignore former President Trump onstage, despite her refusal to respond to criticism from the former president during a CNN interview on Thursday.
“Don't get me wrong, Donald Trump is a big man, he's very vocal and he's very persistent,” Phillips said Thursday night about Harris' ability to ignore Trump's criticisms onstage at the debate.
Harris declined to respond to comments made by President Trump at the National Association of Black Journalists about the Vice President's comments about her racial identity during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash.
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CNN host Abby Phillips warned Vice President Kamala Harris that she couldn't just ignore former President Trump onstage. (Screenshot/CNN)
“I didn't know she was black until a few years ago when she became black, and now she wants to be known as black,” Trump said of Harris at the July event. “So, I don't know if she's Indian or if she's black.”
“The same old platitudes,” Harris said when asked by Bash about Trump's comments. “Next question, please.”
Phillips did not think Harris' response to this and other criticisms of Trump during the Trump-Harris debate on September 10 was appropriate.
“It's not going to be that easy to say, 'OK, let's move on.' He's going to be onstage,” Phillip said.
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CNN political commentators on Phillips' panel were divided on how Harris would handle Trump in the debate. (Screenshot/CNN)
CNN political commentators on Phillips' panel were divided on how Harris would fare against Trump in the debate.
Ashley Allison, a former national coalition director for the Biden-Harris 2020 presidential campaign, said Harris should ignore Trump's comments during the debate.
“The vice president is not tall,” Allison said of Harris, “and she's a petite woman. I don't care if he comes across as a bully. He throws red meat at you and you're above the spot. That's why I think it was so important that she answered the question about race, because, in fact, that kind of behavior is not befitting the presidency.”
CNN analyst David Axelrod said in an interview with CNN that Harris made the right decision.
“What Donald Trump has done really raises the question, 'Do I want this to continue for the next four years, or do I want someone who is going to focus on my issues?' And I think that pivot would be useful,” Axelrod said.
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The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
