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Vice President Kamala Harris could not come up with three virtues about former president Donald Trump when she was asked to do so on Thursday evening at a Univision town hall event.
The Democratic presidential nominee laughed upon hearing the question, posed by an audience member, and immediately shared a negative trait about Trump that she does not like.
“Let me start with this, based on a life experience I know that a vast majority of us have much more in common than what separates us and part of what paints me is the approach that, frankly, Donald Trump and some others have taken – which is to suggest that it’s us vs. them, whoever that may be,” Harris said.
The vice president condemned Trump for promoting a fearful mindset in Americans and encouraging people to “point fingers at each other.”
“Using language that’s about belittling people and calling them names and meant to make them afraid and live in fear. I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation and I don’t admire that,” Harris said.
Trump has been subject to criticisms lately about using degrading language to describe his opponents. He recently called Harris “a dumb person” and “mentally disabled” at rallies and has mocked her appearance to supporters.
He uses aggressive anti-immigration language while speaking about migrants and immigrants, calling them “illegals” and falsely claiming most of them are committing violent crimes.
The vice president then re-directed her attention to answering the question about Trump’s virtues, stumbling over words while trying to find an answer.
“I think Donald Trump loves his family,” Harris said. “I think that’s very important. I think family is one of the most important things we can prioritize.”
But the vice president admitted she couldn’t offer a better answer because she doesn’t “really know” Trump – the first time the two met in person was on the debate stage back in September.
It has been a fraught election cycle, with Trump using incendiary language against fellow Republicans before he secured the nomination, before using equally inflammatory language to describe Joe Biden and Harris.
Republicans have urged Trump to stay on message and keep his attacks focused on Democrats’ policies rather than individual’s personality or appearance but the former president has so far struggled to do so.
Harris has used Trump’s own words against himself when trying to appeal to voters. On Thursday evening she told audience members at the Univision town hall that Trump would be a dictator on day one – a reference to one of the former president’s quotes.
The town hall was part of Harris’s last-ditch efforts to woo Latino voters – who have historically voted Democrat but more recently flipped to support Trump.
