Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview Wednesday on Fox News was tense from the jump. In one of the more hostile moments, the Democratic presidential nominee told host Bret Baier he was diminishing one of Donald Trump’s most inflammatory remarks.
The exchange began after Harris called out the former president’s recent comments labeling “radical left lunatics” as “the enemy from within” and asserting they should be “handled” with military force.
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“He’s the one who talks about an enemy within… suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people,” Harris said of her Republican rival for the presidency.
Baier responded that Fox News asked Trump about those remarks earlier Wednesday, then played a clip of Trump defending his words. In the clip, Trump says his opponents have exaggerated his comments and that he’s the one who’s been cast as an enemy.
Harris wasn’t having it.
“Bret, I’m sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about ‘the enemy within,’ that he has repeated when he is speaking about the American people. That’s not what you just showed,” she said.
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Harris and Baier spoke over each other for a while as he began defending his use of the clip.
“Here’s the bottom line: He has repeated it many times, and you and I both know that,” Harris said. “And you and I both know that he has talked about turning the American military on the American people. He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protest. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him.”
The president should be “able to handle criticism without saying he’d lock people up for doing it,” she added.
That exchange followed another combative moment when Baier asked Harris if she thinks Trump’s supporters are “stupid.”
Harris appeared visibly offended by the suggestion.
“I would never say that about the American people,” she replied.