A focus group of eight undecided Pennsylvania voters on Thursday unanimously expressed disapproval of Vice President Kamala Harris referring to former President Donald Trump “as a fascist.”
Harris said during a CNN town hall Wednesday that she thinks Trump is “a fascist” in light of former White House chief of staff John Kelly telling The New York Times and The Atlantic that the former president exhibited “fascist” tendencies and allegedly praised Adolf Hitler.
READ: Texas Officials Slam VP Kamala Harris Ahead Of Houston Visit, Citing Border Policies
Three of the voters, featured on journalist Mark Halperin’s 2WAY platform, commented that Harris’ remarks were off-putting or unlikely to help her win the November election, while none of the eight raised their hands when Halperin asked if the vice president should be campaigning on this issue.
“In the last few days, the vice president has started to talk about Donald Trump as a fascist, as someone who’s spoken approvingly of Hitler. Raise your hand if you’ve heard about those comments,” Halperin directed, with all eight confirming they had. “Okay. What do folks think, is that something that’s persuasive to you, is that something that you’ll factor into your vote?”
“To me, it’s horrible that she’s saying that about him. If he was saying that about her, everybody would be up in arms,” a voter named Linda Wright answered. “I just don’t think that’s right.”
READ: Florida Sues U.S. Government Over State Investigation Halt In Trump Assassination Attempt
Halperin asked for more voter input, specifying that Harris was espousing the rhetoric “based on accounts of people who’ve worked with President Trump.”
“She obviously thinks it’s going to help her. I don’t think it does it all,” a voter named Josh Cantor asserted. “I don’t know why, if it was Kelly who heard the president say that, I’m not saying he did or he didn’t, I don’t think he’d lie — I think you said that, Mark, on an episode — but I think that he had a responsibility to resign the day that was said if that’s true. I don’t think that’s the case.”
“I think part of the reason why I’m being pushed towards Trump so strongly is that I find that the Democrats and the left just keep going straight to Hitler all of the time with everything,” a voter named Karsten Chu said. “And if it’s not the left pushing Hitler, it’s the right pushing Stalin so it’s like we’re fighting World War II every single day for every single election so it’s so exhausting. I think it just detracts from — it pushes me away from their position and it, you know, it’s so hyperbolic that it makes it impossible to have good discussions and I think it ruins the discourse.”
Halperin then asked voters to raise their hands if they believe “it’s valuable” or “important” for Harris to be promoting the allegations against Trump, with not a single participant raising their hand.
READ: Trump Vows To Fire Special Counsel Jack Smith “Within 2 Seconds” If Re-Elected
The Trump campaign has denied the allegations against him, including Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung telling the NYT that Kelly’s alleged White House recollections are “debunked stories” and asserting the former White House chief of staff had “beclowned” himself.
Harris now slightly trails Trump in each of the seven top battleground states, according to the RealClear Polling averages. Trump is only leading the vice president by .6% in Pennsylvania.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Android Users: Download our free app to stay up-to-date on the latest news.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.