Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said it’s OK to call Donald Trump’s campaign fascist during an appearance on radio host Charlamagne tha God’s show.
The Democratic nominee joined the popular radio personality for an at-times tense live town hall featuring listener questions in an appeal to black voters with Election Day three weeks away.
Harris, 59, was describing the choice voters had between her campaign and Trump’s when Charlemagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, brought up fascism.
“One [choice], mine, that is about taking us forward and progress and investing in the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges,” she said.
“And the other, Donald Trump, is about taking us backward.”
“The other is about fascism. Why can’t we just say it?” Charlamagne asked in reference to Trump.
“Yes, we can say that,” Harris replied.
The radio host also accused Trump, 78, of planning ahead to try to “steal” the election if he loses and accused Republicans of scheming to not certify the 2024 election results if Harris wins.
“Why is everybody sitting around acting like Donald Trump isn’t going to plan to steal this election if he loses?” he asked. “…Why are people acting like this is going to be a free and fair election?”
“It will be a free and fair election if we, the American people, stand up for that,” Harris said.
The vice president largely stuck to her talking points and dodged tense questions from Charlamagne and listeners on the hour-long show streamed on iHeartRadio and CNN.
The radio host at one point called her out for her “filibuster” of a caller’s question about reparations and pressed into her record on the border as well as her prosecution of black men for minor marijuana offenses as San Francisco district attorney between 2004 and 2011.
Harris has ramped up her media appearances over the past week onwards as she fights for Americans’ votes in the final homestretch.
Last week, she visited the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, ABC News’ “The View,” “The Howard Stern Show,” and CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”