WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris went to a Philadelphia suburb on Wednesday night for a CNN town hall, where she faced questions from undecided voters. The event was arranged after Donald Trump declined to participate in a second debate with her.
With less than two weeks to go until the election, here are some key moments from the town hall.
She left no doubt that she believes her opponent can be characterized by the far-right authoritarian ideology.
Asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper if she thinks Trump is a fascist, Harris replied bluntly.
“Yes, I do,” she said. “Yes, I do.”
Her answer came shortly after John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, used the same term to describe the Republican nominee.
Harris' comments were a bolder version of an answer that she gave during an interview last week.
Radio host Charlamagne Tha God referred to Trump's vision for the country as fascism and asked, “Why can't we just say it?”
“Yes, we can say that,” Harris said.
Ever since being catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket, the vice president has struggled with questions about how she's different from President Joe Biden. Harris has been reluctant to distance herself from him even though voters appear eager for a change in direction.
However, Biden recently gave her a rhetorical green light to break with him more, saying she would “cut her own path” if elected.
Harris appears to have tentatively embraced the opportunity. She repeatedly said Wednesday night that she would offer “a new approach" to governing when it came to caring for the elderly and bringing down consumer costs.
“I’m not going to shy away from saying, hey, these are still problems that we need to fix," Harris said.
The vice president doesn't usually discuss her religion, but she revealed more during the town hall.
Cooper asked Harris to reflect on the day that Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed her, particularly a call that she had with her pastor.
“I needed that advice," she said about her conversation with Rev. Dr. Amos Brown in San Francisco. "I needed a prayer.”
She also said, “I do pray every day, sometimes twice a day.”
Harris said she was raised with the understanding that “your faith is a verb,” meaning that it's important to put beliefs into action to help others.
Harris' background and personal life involves a blend of religions. She's previously talked about attending services at a Baptist church and a Hindu temple while growing up in California. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.
Candidates spend a lot of time talking about their strengths, so one of the voters asked Harris about her weaknesses.
“I am certainly not perfect, so let's start there,” she said with a laugh.
Harris said she surrounds herself with “very smart people” whom she pushes for answers on complicated topics.
“I’m constantly saying, ‘Let’s kick the tires on that,'" she said. Harris said she's cautious because “my actions have a direct impact on real people in a very fundamental way.”
It sounded like a classic politician dodge, like when a candidate says their biggest weakness is they care too much. But her answer hinted at real criticism that she's faced over the years.
Sometimes Harris has been known to prepare to the point of paralysis, and she's sometimes unwilling to take risks.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, as moderator Anderson Cooper listens. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, as moderator Anderson Cooper listens. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Widespread flooding and landslides set off by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday left at least 24 people dead, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble for motorboats to rescue trapped villagers, some on roofs.
The government shut down schools and offices — except those urgently needed for disaster response — for the second day on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people after Tropical Storm Trami slammed into the country’s northeastern province of Isabela after midnight.
The storm was blowing over Aguinaldo town in the mountain province of Ifugao after dawn with sustained winds up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 160 kph (99 mph). It was blowing westward and was forecast to enter the South China Sea later on Thursday, according to state forecasters.
At least 24 people died, mostly due to drowning in the hard-hit Bicol region and nearby Quezon province but the toll was expected to rise as towns and villages isolated by flooding and roads blocked by landslides and toppled trees manage to send out reports, police and provincial officials said.
Most of the storm deaths were reported in the six-province Bicol region, southeast of Manila, where at least 20 people died, including 7 residents in Naga city, which was inundated by flash floods as Trami was approaching Tuesday, dumping more than two months’ worth of rainfall in just 24 hours at high tide, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon and other officials said.
While thousands of villagers, who were trapped in floodwaters, have been rescued by government forces, many more needed to be saved Thursday in the Bicol region, including some on roofs. About 1,500 police officers have been deployed for disaster-mitigation work, Dizon said.
“We can’t rescue them all at once because there are so many and we need additional motorboats," Dizon told The Associated Press by telephone. “We’re looking for ways to deliver food and water to those who were trapped but could not be evacuated right away.”
Flash floods swept away and submerged cars in some parts of Naga city while mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s 24 active volcanoes, in nearby Albay province, engulfed several vehicles, Dizon said.
Stormy weather remained in the region, hampering relief efforts, officials said.
The government’s disaster-mitigation agency said more than 2 million people were affected by the storm, including 75,400 villagers who were displaced from their homes and are sheltering on safer ground.
About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and flattened entire villages.
Residents are ferried on a rubber boat after being rescued from their roofs where they stayed to avoid high floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Libon town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Michelle Ricasio via AP)
Residents are ferried on a rubber boat after being rescued from their roofs where they stayed to avoid high floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Libon town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Michelle Ricasio via AP)
Residents are ferried on a rubber boat after being rescued from their roofs where they stayed to avoid high floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Libon town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Michelle Ricasio via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, residents staying on top of their roofs to avoid floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami, locally named Kristine, await to be rescued at Libon, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a resident carries a baby as they are rescued from their roofs where they were staying to avoid floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami, locally named Kristine, at Libon, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
A resident walks beside a truck buried by volcanic mud that flowed down from Mayon volcano after heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Guinobatan town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers carry residents trapped in their home after floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami, locally named Kristine, hit their village at Libon, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers carry a resident trapped in their homes after floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami, locally named Kristine, hit their village at Libon, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
