Vice President Kamala Harris described former President Donald Trump as “increasingly unstable and unhinged” on Monday night, pointing to comments he made Sunday about using the military against domestic critics.
Harris held a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania county that often predicts the winner of the national presidential race.
While she drew thousands to the Erie Insurance Arena, the Democratic candidate acknowledged she was the “underdog” as the race has become tighter nationally and in key states.
That’s when he tried a new tactic: literally showing footage of Trump’s comments at his rallies.
“Please roll up the paperclip,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris described former President Donald Trump as “increasingly unstable and unhinged” on Monday night, pointing to comments he made Sunday about using the military against domestic critics.
Trump’s face appeared on the two jumbotrons at the hockey and basketball stadium in downtown Erie.
The montage included several fragments of his rallies and then the controversial comments he made on Sunday to Fox’s María Bartiromo.
“I think the biggest problem is the people inside, we have very bad people, sick people, crazy radical leftists,” Trump had said. “And it should be easily handled, if necessary, by the National Guard, or if it’s really necessary, by the military.”
‘You heard his words. You heard his words coming from him. He’s talking about the enemy inside Pennsylvania. “He’s talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania,” Harris said.
“He’s talking about how he considers anyone who doesn’t support him or bend to his will an enemy of our country,” he continued, drawing scattered boos. ‘He’s saying he would use the army to go after them. Do you think about this?’
Harris said “we know who he would target” from similar comments he’s made in the past.
‘Journalists whose stories you don’t like. Election officials who refuse to cheat by submitting additional votes or finding additional votes for him. Judges who insist on following the law rather than bending to its will,” Harris said. “This is one of the reasons why I firmly believe that a second Trump term would be an enormous and dangerous risk for the United States.”
Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie County has predicted the winner of Pennsylvania and national elections in the last two cycles.
“Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged and seeking unchecked power; that’s what he’s looking for; he wants to send the military after American citizens,” Harris said again.
He also criticized Trump for the demise of Roe v. Wade, saying she “worked to prevent women from making their own decisions about their health care.”
While the Democratic candidate slapped Trump a little harder at Monday night’s rally, she stopped rally-goers from chanting “lock him up!”
Trump loyalists chanted “lock her up” when he ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016, insisting she deserved prison for using a private email server while serving as secretary of state.
‘Wait!’ Harris told the Erie crowd. ‘Because here’s the thing, the courts will deal with it. We will take care of November,” he encouraged.
The Pennsylvania loser is also likely to lose the 2024 election.
Harris’ warm-up act on Monday was Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who received applause from the crowd when he appeared on stage wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers cap, pairing it with his signature hoodie and gym shorts.
Fetterman said he knew why there were so many people in Erie Monday night.
‘Do you know why?’ asked. “Because you choose the president.”
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman showed up at the Erie rally wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers snow hat, called former President Donald Trump a “clown” and mocked JD Vance for not wanting to eat at Sheetz.
“That’s what happened in 2020, Joe Biden showed up, smoked the clown and sent him home,” Fetterman said.
He added that in 2022, “you sent that weirdo back to New Jersey,” referring to Fetterman’s Republican rival in the Senate, television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“And you’re all going to run for Bob Casey and send that weirdo back to Connecticut,” Fetterman said, alluding to Casey’s Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, who spent most of his career in New England.
Fetterman also attacked Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, stating to the crowd that he “doesn’t want to go to Sheetz.”
Sheetz is a gas station chain known for its made-to-order food.
‘What’s wrong with these people?’ Fetterman said with dismay. “Erie, I love you, thank you Erie,” he said then, before lumbering off the stage.