A voter taking part in the Fox News Digital panel reacting to the debate slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for some of the rhetoric she used against former President Donald Trump.
“Race baiting and fear mongering was a big part of her tactics tonight,” one voter on the panel said of Harris’ debate performance.
The comment comes after Trump and Harris squared off in what could be the only debate between the two candidates before election day in November, beginning the stretch run of a campaign that promises to end in a razor tight finish.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Photographer: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images
But one voter didn’t come away impressed with Harris’ rhetoric.
Asked to point to a specific incident in the debate where Harris was “race baiting” Trump, the voter pointed to her remarks on the “Central Park Five.”
“I think that’s a hot button issue, especially for a lot of African Americans, but she leaves out a lot of specifics to that,” the voter said, like the lead prosecutor was a Democrat at the time,” the voter said.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, right, and former US President Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Photographer: Doug Mills/The New York Time/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)
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The voter was referencing a part in the debate in which Harris accused Trump of having a long history of being racially divisive, noting that his family’s company was once investigated for allegedly refusing to rent to black people decades ago and mentioning that he called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who were falsely accused of raping a Manhattan jogger in 1989.
“I think he was gaslit throughout the entire debate, and that is probably why he was so defensive,” the voter said. “Even when he brought up the topic of race, he brought that up because she’s pandering, she’s using being black as a trope to get black votes.”
The voter concluded by arguing that Harris never elaborated about a plan for black voters, something she would have liked to hear the vice president speak on.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greet as they debate for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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“I would have liked to see her lean into the fact that ‘yes I am a black woman, and this is my plan black America,’” the voter continued. “But she clearly doesn’t have a plan because she’s essentially not black.”