Trump was asked to name three good things about Harris. His response sounded like hers

MIAMI– MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump was asked Wednesday to name three virtues of his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, a week after Harris was asked to do the same for the Republican nominee.

His response sounded very similar to hers.

“That’s a very difficult question,” Trump said at the end of an event hosted by Univision, the country’s largest Spanish-language network. “That’s the hardest question.

Trump first said Harris had “horribly harmed our country” before praising what he said was her “ability to survive.”

Then came the blow.

“Because she was out of the race,” Trump said, referring to Harris’ early departure from the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination campaign and her replacement this summer by President Joe Biden at the top of the 2024 ticket. “And suddenly she is running for president.”

He also noted that “she seems to have some long-standing friendships” and that “she seems to have a kind way about her.”

“I like the way that, you know, some of her statements, some of her — the way she carries herself in a certain way,” he said. “But on the other hand, I think it’s really bad for our country.”

Asking major party candidates to say something nice about each other is a presidential tradition, which sometimes leads to memorable moments and jokes. But Trump and Harris don’t know each other personally, only having me publicly at the September debate. And in a tense election in which both sides considered the other a threat to democracy, neither candidate is under much pressure from their supporters to sing their praises.

Harris said last week that Trump’s approach to politics “hurts me,” highlighting what she called an “us-versus-them” approach and adding “I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation and I don’t admire that.”

She finally said, “I think Donald Trump loves his family and I think that’s very important,” only to continue, “But I don’t really know him. I only met him once… so I don’t have much more to offer him.”

Both Trump and Harris were questioned by the same audience member, 48-year-old Teresa Djedjro, who attended both events.

Eight years ago, when a voter asked Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to say something that would respect each other, Clinton offered to respond first, saying she respected Trump’s children, whom she called “incredibly capable and dedicated.”

Trump called it a “very nice compliment” and then said: “I’ll say this about Hillary: She doesn’t give up, she doesn’t give up. I respect that.”

Both candidates, however, said they disagreed with each other on almost everything.

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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.