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Trump Lashes Out at Harris, TV Co-Hosts10/10 06:09
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) -- Former President Donald Trump hurled insults at his
rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other women Wednesday -- saying he had
no interest in stopping his attacks even if they turn off female voters -- as
Hurricane Milton made landfall, lashing Florida with rain, tornadoes and
tropical-storm-force winds.
"I don't want to be nice," Trump said at his first of two rallies of the day
in the pivotal battleground state of Pennsylvania. "You know, somebody said,
'You should be nicer. Women won't like it.' I said, 'I don't care.'"
He later refuted the idea that his rhetoric was a problem, even as polls
show Trump is viewed less favorably by women than by men. "The women want to
see our country come back," he said. "They don't care."
Trump was campaigning even as the storm threatened to overshadow the
presidential race with fears that it would cause catastrophic damage in Tampa
and other parts of Florida's Gulf Coast. Harris flew to Nevada for a Western
campaign swing, but first attended a briefing on the storm and the federal
response with President Joe Biden at the White House.
Speaking in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump lobbed personal insults at Harris
-- calling her "grossly incompetent" and "totally ill-equipped to do the job of
being President of the United States" -- and went after one of the hosts of
ABC's "The View," which Harris appeared on Tuesday.
He called Sunny Hostin, who is Black and Latina, "dumber than Kamala."
"That is one dumb woman. Sorry. I'm sorry, women, she's a dummy," he said of
Hostin, who had asked Harris if there was anything she would have done
differently than Biden over the last four years. Harris replied: "Not a thing
comes to mind."
Later, in Reading, he turned on another host of the program, calling Whoopi
Goldberg, who is also Black, "demented" and saying she had a "foul mouth."
"She was so filthy dirty, disgusting," he said. "She was so dirty. Every
word was filthy, dirty. What a loser she is."
Trump and his campaign have seized on Harris' response to the Biden question
as it tries to paint her as nothing more than a continuation of Biden's
unpopular presidency.
In Reading, he called her answer "disqualifying" and listed a series of
tragedies that happened on the Biden administration's watch, including Hamas'
Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"People are realizing she's a dumb person. And we can't have another dumb
president," he railed.
He also went after the Biden administration for its response to Hurricane
Helene as Milton made landfall in Florida.
"This administration has not done a proper job at all. Terrible, terrible,"
he told the crowd. "We just pray for everybody," he went on. "We hope that God
will keep them safe."
Harris' campaign, meanwhile, mocked Trump for the unusual number of empty
seats in the Reading arena -- a sore spot for the crowd-obsessed Trump.
At both stops, he urged the crowd to vote early, and said that if he wins
the state, "we win the whole thing."
"When the polls open tomorrow, don't wait. Go immediately. Go as soon as you
can," he said in Scranton. Pennsylvanians can fill out mail ballots at their
county elections offices but the state does not have the type of early voting
that exists in other places. Each county determines when its mail ballots are
available.
Milton scrambles campaigns
Hurricane Milton has already disrupted the campaign, just two weeks after
Hurricane Helene devastated large swaths of the Southeast. Trump, who moved to
Florida after he left the White House, postponed a virtual event Tuesday night
focused on health care and postponed a Univision town hall that was supposed to
happen in Miami.
Harris has her own Univision town hall planned for Thursday in Las Vegas
before returning to Arizona, making her second visit to both states in less
than two weeks.
Trump, at his rally in Scranton -- Biden's birthplace -- said he was praying
for those in the hurricane's path and wanted to "send our love to everyone in
Florida. They're going through a big one tonight."
"We're praying for them and asking God to keep them all safe, all those
people. I've never seen a hurricane like that," he went on. "So often, you
know, they talk about it and they talk talk talk because they want you to
watch. This is the real deal. This is a bad one."
Campaigning in Arizona, where early voting kicked off Wednesday, Democratic
vice presidential nominee Tim Walz called on the country to come together to
support those who will be impacted.
"Those are Americans. Those are our neighbors. Those are our family members.
Those are our friends," he said, calling unity across party lines in the face
of natural disasters "critical."
"It's not about politics. It's about basic human decency," Walz said. "It's
about leadership and character."
Milton is approaching just days after Hurricane Helene killed more than 220
people in six Southeastern states and left behind a swath of destruction that
federal, state and local authorities are trying to alleviate even as they brace
for the new storm.
'Reckless' hurricane misinformation
Both Biden, who postponed a trip to Germany and Angola due to the storm, and
Harris have denounced the misinformation and disinformation surrounding the
federal response to Helene, including the false assertion that there is a cap
on assistance funding families can receive.
They also denounced the false notion that funding is being diverted away
from Republican-heavy areas and to people in the country illegally, as well as
the claim that federal authorities offering aid could eventually steal property
from its owners. Both singled out Trump as driving much of the falsehoods.
"I want to be clear about something. Over the last few weeks, there's been a
reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright
lies that are disturbing people," Biden said during the Milton briefing. "It's
undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has
already been taken and will continue to be taken. And it's harmful to those who
need help the most."
"What a ridiculous thing to say," Biden said of the false rumors that
funding is being diverted to migrants in the country illegally. Biden also
referenced Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene 's false suggestion
that "I control the weather," he said, calling her comments like something "out
of a comic book."
"It's beyond ridiculous," Biden said. "It's got to stop."
Harris said that once the hurricane passes, "We will be there to help folks
rebuild."
Addressing Florida residents, Harris added: "Many of you, I know are tough,
and you've ridden out these hurricanes before. This one is going to be
different."
Outside the arena in Reading before Trump spoke, financial consultant Zimri
Rivera said he didn't have an issue with candidates holding events as the
hurricane approached Florida.
"I feel like both politicians are politicking," said Rivera, 30. "I do hope
that the government in general does respond and provides relief to those
affected."
Trump has faced numerous other distractions to his campaign, including the
criminal cases against him, said Joey Inmon, 63, of Reading.
"As far as the hurricane goes, and managing that -- that's not Trump's job,"
Inmon said.
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