Former President Donald Trump used Vice President Kamala Harris’ past words against her at a campaign stop Friday, casting her as too “Marxist” and “radical” for the nation.
Speaking in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump rolled out old video clips of Ms. Harris vowing to ban fracking, support a mandatory gun buyback program, and back a health care system that would eliminate private insurance.
“Now she has changed everything,” Mr. Trump said, alluding to Ms. Harris’ evolution on some policy issues. “Since Kamala and the media don’t want to talk about her radical record, we will.”
“She will destroy the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said.
The campaign stop was his first event since Ms. Harris’ first sit-down interview as the Democratic presidential nominee, in which she was pressed on her waffling on some of the nation’s most pressing issues.
Ms. Harris responded by casting herself as a pragmatic leader who has been more consistent than not.
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“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” she said.
She also defended her shifts on immigration, saying she supports prosecuting illegal immigrants crossing the border, years after saying the act should be decriminalized.
“I’m the only person in this race who actually served a border state as attorney general to enforce our laws, and I would enforce our laws as president going forward,” she said. “I recognize the problem.”
However, Mr. Trump said Pennsylvania voters know Ms. Harris cannot be trusted. He said her interview showed she is unfit to serve as president.
“This Kamala is a total lightweight. Did you see her on television last night?” he said. “This is going to be the president of our country? I don’t think so.”
Mr. Trump vowed to expand oil and natural gas development, stop illegal immigration, and fight to defend private health insurance.
Mr. Trump headed into the Labor Day weekend fighting to regain momentum in a race reshuffled by President Biden’s exit in July.
Ms. Harris has erased Mr. Trump’s lead over Mr. Biden in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, a must-win state for Democrats.
According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Mr. Trump held a 4.5-percentage-point lead over Mr. Biden in Pennsylvania before he dropped out. Ms. Harris is now running neck-and-neck with him.
Mr. Trump, however, said the Harris honeymoon would end once more voters in Pennsylvania familiarized themselves with her political track record.
“You know, we win the state, we win the whole thing,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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