Voters across party lines in Fox News focus groups reacted in real time to former President Donald Trump accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of copying some of his policies.
“Everything she believed in three years ago, four years ago, is gone. She now follows my philosophies,” Trump said.
“Actually, I was going to send her a MAGA hat. She agrees with my philosophy, but if she gets elected, she'll change my philosophy, and that will be the end of our country,” he added. “She's a Marxist. Everybody knows she's a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist economics professor, and he gave her a good education.”
According to Fox News, Trump's approval rating among Republicans spiked during his remarks, while his approval rating among independents increased slightly and his approval rating among Democrats fell.
After the Biden-Harris administration announced plans last month to crack down on tipping for service industry workers, Harris came under fire from critics and conservatives for “copying” former President Trump's campaign promise not to tax service industry workers' tips.
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Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris exchange greetings during their first debate during the 2024 presidential campaign at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The copycat criticism on Tuesday night came after Harris attacked President Trump's trade policy toward China.
“He started a trade war. He wants to talk about making a deal with China. After all, under President Donald Trump, he sold American semiconductors to China to help strengthen and modernize their military. In essence, he betrayed us,” Harris said. “China policy should be about making sure America wins the 21st century competition.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“That means focusing on the details of what's needed, focusing on our relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American-based technologies to win the race in AI and quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do to support the American workforce so they're not at a disadvantage when it comes to labor rights,” Harris said.
“But what Donald Trump did, when it comes to COVID-19, he actually thanked President Xi Jinping for his actions during COVID-19. Look at his tweet: Thank you, President Xi Jinping, exclamation point,” Harris added, “even though I know she bears some responsibility for not being transparent and providing about the origins of COVID-19.”
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during the debate. (Screenshot: Fox News simulcast of the ABC News presidential debate)
“First of all, they buy their chips from Taiwan. We barely make any chips anymore because of their kind of philosophy and policies. I'm not gonna talk about her because she doesn't have policies,” Trump replied.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former independent presidential candidate who endorsed Trump a few weeks ago, echoed X about the exchange but did not address Harris' comments about COVID's origins.
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“Vice President Harris appeared to acknowledge that COVID-19 originated in a lab – one of many 'conspiracy theories' the Biden-Harris Administration has censored from the internet,” Kennedy wrote.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
