Harris condemns Trump rhetoric, says voters should make sure he ‘can’t have that microphone again’

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday decried Republican Donald Trump for inflammatory rhetoric about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and on other topics, saying voters should make sure he “can’t have that microphone again. ” Sitting down for a rare extended campaign interview Tuesday with a trio of journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists, Harris said her heart breaks after threats of violence have disrupted the city following comments amplified by Trump and his running mate alleging, without evidence, that immigrants are kidnapping and consuming people’s pets. Two days after Secret Service agents foiled an apparent assassination attempt on Trump, who blamed Democratic rhetoric for the latest threat to his life, Harris said that “there are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe. ” She referenced the threats to immigrants, but also the conservative Project 2025 blueprint for the next Republican administration and a GOP-led effort to restrict abortion access. “Not everybody has Secret Service,” she said.

“Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now, immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now. ” Harris said she personally has confidence in the Secret Service and feels safe under their protection. She spoke briefly with Trump on Tuesday to express her gratitude that he was safe, but in the interview said his rhetoric should be disqualifying. “When you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a deep level that your words have meaning,” Harris said, without mentioning Trump by name.

“Let’s turn the page and chart a new way forward and say you can’t have that microphone again. ” Harris said the Republican attacks on the city and migrants there were “lies that are grounded in tropes that are age old. ” The sedate interview in Philadelphia stood in contrast to former President Donald Trump’s appearance before the same organization just a month ago, which turned contentious over matters of race and other issues. The Trump interview opened a chapter in the campaign in which the Republican candidate repeatedly questioned Harris’ racial identity, baselessly claiming that she had only belatedly “turned Black” at some point in her professional career. Trump has since repeatedly questioned Harris’ racial identity on the campaign trail and during the September presidential debate.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, has repeatedly dismissed Trump’s remarks as “the same old show. ” During her September debate with Trump, she said it was a “tragedy” that he had “attempted to use race to divide the American people. ” The vice president insisted she is working to earn the vote of Black men and not taking any constituency for granted.