Harris had her Fox News interview the same day Trump appeared at Univision town hall event of mostly undecided Latino voters.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both took part in challenging media events on Wednesday as the pair looked to sure up voters in the final few weeks of the election.
The vice president sat down with Fox News’ Bret Baier for an at times contentious interview on the conservative news network.
The former president appeared at a town hall event on the Spanish-language network Univision the same day. He took a series of tough questions from mostly undecided Latino voters in Miami, Florida, on key issues such as immigration.
For Harris, the Fox News interview was an opportunity to broaden her appeal to Republicans and independents by appearing on a channel that is seen as generally critical of Democrats. Trump would have hoped to use his Univision town hall event to attract Latino and Hispanic voters, demographics that could be potentially key in such swing states as Arizona and Nevada.
Reactions to both performances were mixed. Fox News pundit Brit Hume told the network’s Special Report program that Harris was “combative and energetic and she certainly landed some blows on Donald Trump” during her interview. Trump’s campaign said Harris’s interview was a “train wreck.”
Trump was criticized by Harris’ campaign for failing to directly answer several questions from the town hall audience. Miami’s Republican mayor, Francis Suarez, said Trump did a “fantastic job” at the Univision event.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump and Harris campaign teams for comment via email.Kamala Harris’ Tough Questions on Fox News
The vice president and Baier sparred and often spoke over each other from the outset of the interview.
Baier repeatedly pressed Harris on the Biden administration’s reversal of restrictive Trump-era policies and asked whether the families who had loved ones killed by people who crossed the border illegally deserved an apology.
“Let me just say, first of all, those are tragic cases, there’s no question about that, and I can’t imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced for a loss that should not have occurred”, Harris responded.
Harris went on to say that the fact that Trump helped kill a bipartisan border security bill prevented more “agents at the border, more support for the folks who are working around the clock trying to hold it all together to ensure that no future harm would occur.”
Harris was asked by Baier if she was ever concerned if President Joe Biden’s “mental facilities appeared diminished.”
Harris replied that “Joe Biden is not on the ballot, but Donald Trump is” to suggest there are also concerns about the Republican being in office for another term.
