In a live town hall Wednesday night with CNN held outside of Philadelphia, Vice President Kamala Harris swerved around a direct response to the question if she’d be more pro-Israel than former president Donald Trump, who’s casting himself the protector of the Jewish state.
Harris faced carefully choreographed back-to-back questions on Israel and antisemitism, starting with a question from an undecided voter on how she would ensure no more Palestinians die due to bombs funded by US tax dollars.
“So I will say, and I think this is to your point, far too many innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed. It’s unconscionable,” Harris said. “And we are now at a place where, with Sinwar’s death, I do believe we have an opportunity to end this war, bring the hostages home, bring relief to the Palestinian people, and work toward a two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinians in equal measure, have security, where the Palestinian people have dignity, self-determination and the safety they so rightly deserve.”
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, moderating the town hall, followed up by asking Harris what she would say to third-party voters or people considering not voting at all because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
“Listen, I am not going to deny the strong feelings that people have. I don’t know anyone who has seen the images who would not have strong feelings about what has happened, much less those who have relatives who have died and been killed,” Harris said.
Harris said she “appreciates that” but also knows that many people who care about the war in Gaza also care about other issues like the price of groceries, abortion, and democracy.
A Jewish woman, wearing a yellow pin for the hostages, then posed a question to Harris on how she would combat the growing trend of antisemitism and protect Jewish college students.
Harris addresses rising antisemitism
“I will say that we have seen a rise in antisemitism,” Harris said. “It is something that we have to be honest about, and we have to deal with. Part of what we’ve got to do is talk with people so that they understand what are the tropes, what are the roots of what we are seeing?”
Harris added there need to be laws in place that make those who would commit crimes on behalf of antisemitism and hate “pay a serious consequence” and have the deterrent so that doesn’t happen.
“We need to ensure that college students are safe in their school and feel safe to be able to go to class,” she said.
Harris then referenced The Atlantic’s newly published interviews with former Trump administration staffers who claimed Trump said he needed “the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
“But I’m going to tell you what doesn’t help,” Harris said. “Again, I invite you to listen, and go online to listen to John Kelly, the former chief of staff of Donald Trump, who has told us, Donald Trump said, essentially, why aren’t my generals like those of Hitler’s. Like Hitler, who he has referred [to] several times. We’ve heard the reports for years.”
Cooper then asked Harris if she thinks Trump is antisemitic.
“I believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of America,” Harris replied.
“He has said that he’s casting himself as a protector of Israel. Do you believe you would be more pro-Israel than Donald Trump?” Cooper asked the Vice President.
Harris gave a lengthy, impassioned response without mentioning her support for Israel, instead focusing on Trump’s admiration for dictators like Kim Jong Un and Putin.
“I believe that Donald Trump is dangerous,” she said. “And if the President of the United States, the commander in chief, is saying to his generals, in essence, why can’t you be more like Hitler’s generals? This is a serious, serious issue, and we know who he is.”
Her response continued for another minute without mention of Israel.
