Harris says "Yes I do" when asked if she thinks Trump is a fascist during CNN town hall in Pennsylvania
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 posed the question to Harris during a CNN town hall on Wednesday night after former Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly told the New York Times that Trump is "certainly an authoritarian."
"And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted," Harris told Cooper. "Again, look at their careers, these are not people, I think with the exception of only Mike Pence, these are not politicians. These are career people who have served at the highest roles of national security. Who have served as generals in our military. Who are highly respected, talking about the person who will be commander in chief."
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 commented more than once that, 'You know, Hitler did some good things, too,'" Kelly said Trump told him. "And of course, if you know history, again I think he's lacking in that. If you know what history was all about, it would be pretty hard to make an argument that he did anything good."
After Harris answered Cooper's question about Trump, she took questions from voters around the Delaware Valley on a number of topics, including the economy, the price of groceries and immigration.
Harris vowed to take on price gouging on groceries at the town hall.
A Drexel University student asked Harris about her immigration plans, a topic where polls show voters have favored Trump.
Harris called America's immigration system "broken" and said she would call on Congress to act.
"I pledged that I'm going to bring forth 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 deals with a broken immigration system."
However, Harris did not answer questions on whether she thought the Biden administration should've acted on the border sooner.
A registered Republican from Media also asked Harris about her shifting positions on issues like fracking and how voters can know she's now being authentic.
"Our country deserves to have a president of the United States who is not afraid of good ideas and does not stand on pride," Harris said. "If a perspective needs to be informed by different points of view to build consensus and to have a common sense approach, I'm never going to shy away from good ideas."
Harris was also asked about possibly expanding the Supreme Court to 12 justices. She said she believes the court needs reform, but wanted to study the best way forward.
Harris again pledged to work across the aisle with Republicans and bring more unity to the country.
Before Harris went to Delco for the CNN town hall, she stopped at at Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia's Queen Village neighborhood. The deli is a regular stop for politicos during the campaign cycle.
The Harris and Trump campaigns each have packed schedules this week in Pennsylvania.
Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will make campaign stops in Philadelphia on Friday.
Trump will rally in State College on Saturday. His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD 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 New Jersey rock star Bruce Springsteen.