5 Takeaways from Harris Town Hall on CNN

Vice President Kamala Harris fielded questions from undecided Pennsylvania voters at a town hall meeting in Delaware County on Oct. 23.

The event occurred just 13 days before the Nov. 5 election, as Harris is locked in a tight presidential race with former President Donald Trump.

The event, hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, featured questions from a group of 32 voters who said they were open to persuasion, according to Cooper. Some had voted Republican in the previous election, some Democrat, and some had not voted either by choice or because they were ineligible at the time.

Delaware County is a densely populated area adjacent to Philadelphia and part of the largest metropolitan area in a state that is considered a toss-up in the current election.

Harris is virtually tied with former President Trump in polls of the Keystone State and six other states that are likely to determine the result of the 2024 presidential election.

Both Harris’s opening statement and her responses to the dozen audience questions communicated that she is distinguishing herself from Trump while emphasizing her bipartisan, solutions-oriented approach to governance.

Here are five takeaways from the event.

Escalating Attacks on Trump

Harris’s remarks were salted with criticisms of the former president, including a five-and-a-half-minute opening statement in which she cataloged the reasons she believes he is unfit to hold the office of the president.

Prompted by an opening question from Cooper, Harris said, “I do believe that Donald Trump is unstable, increasingly unstable, unfit to serve.”

She went on to list several former Trump administration officials who have retreated from supporting him, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Kelly.

“I think it compels a lot of people to be concerned about the future of our country with Donald Trump at the lead,” Harris said.

Asked whether she believes Trump is a fascist, Harris said, “Yes, I do.”

The vice president continued her attacks on Trump throughout the event, criticizing him while replying to nine of the 12 questions posed, and mentioning him by name 27 times during the 60-minute event.

Promise of Bipartisanship

Harris promised voters she would be a solutions-oriented leader who works with Congress to solve major problems such as the high cost of housing and groceries, and what she called the broken immigration system.

“We’ve got to get past this era of politics and partisan politics slowing down what we need to do in terms of progress in our country, and that means working across the aisle,” Harris said.

“I’ve done that before,” she added. “It is my commitment to work with Democrats, with Republicans, with independents to deal with a number of issues.”

Harris returned to the idea of collaborative solutions throughout the event, specifically in reference to solving the border crisis.

“[Americans] also care about the fact that we need practical, common sense solutions from a leader who is willing to work across the aisle on behalf of the American people and not themselves,” Harris said.

Pressed on Immigration

Cooper interjected with follow-up questions after several of Harris’s responses, most pointedly on the subject of illegal immigration.

Following a response to a question on the subject, Cooper noted that the Biden administration had taken recent executive action that had dramatically decreased the number of illegal border crossings. He asked why that had not been done sooner.

“Because we were working with Congress and hoping that actually, we could have a long-term fix to the problem instead of a short-term fix,” Harris said.

Asked if she wished they had taken executive action sooner, Harris said, “I think we did the right thing, but the best thing that can happen for the American people is that we have bipartisan work happening.”

Cooper noted that the bipartisan border bill that she favors included $650 million for construction of the border wall, which she had previously criticized. “But you do want to build some wall?” he asked.

“I want to strengthen our border,” Harris said.

End Senate Filibuster to Pass Abortion Law

In an NBC interview the preceding day, Harris was asked whether she would agree to any concessions on the issue of abortion access if a nationwide right to abortion could not be passed by Congress. She said she would not.

Cooper repeated a version of the question, noting that passage of a national abortion law would be difficult as it would require 60 votes in the Senate and a majority of the House. “If that’s not possible, what do you do?” Cooper said.

“I think we need to take a look at the filibuster, to be honest with you,” Harris said, referring to the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to end debate on a bill and bring it to a vote.

The filibuster has been widely criticized and lauded by both sides, at different times, as a tool that allows a minority to block important legislation. Supporters argue it is critical to ensure bipartisan solutions from the Senate while protecting the rights of the minority.

Shares About Faith, Grief

Harris spoke about her personal life in response to questions about her Baptist faith and her grief over the death of her mother.

Cooper noted that Harris had called her pastor shortly after President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and asked about the subject of the call.

“When the President called me, I instinctively understood the gravity of the moment,” she said. “I needed a spiritual kind of connection. I needed that advice. I needed a prayer.”

The conversation centered on a passage in the biblical book of Esther, which uses the phrase “for such a time as this,” Harris said. “That’s what we talked about, and it was very comforting for me.”

Harris said she prays every day. “I was raised to believe in a loving God, to believe that faith is a verb,” Harris said. “Your life’s work should be to think about how you can serve in a way that is uplifting other people, that is caring for other people. And that guides a lot of how I think about my work.”

Later, when asked if she continues to grieve the loss of her mother, who died of cancer in 2009, Harris said, “You don’t stop grieving.”

“I don’t think there’s any correct or proper way to grieve. And the most important thing is, I think, that people do not suppress what they’re feeling at any moment. And the rest of us should give them grace to go through it as they will.”

Harris led Trump by 3.7 percentage points in an average of national polls in late August. That lead has diminished to 1.7 points, with a number showing Trump now in the lead.

The race in Pennsylvania, which holds 16 electoral votes, is a statistical tie, according to the average.

More than 26.5 million people have already cast ballots either in person or by mail in the 2024 election, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab. More than 158 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election.