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Trump and Harris ramp up the rhetoric on the campaign trail

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

In the presidential race - more interviews...

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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: A basic freedom has been taken from the women of America - the freedom to make decisions about their own body.

AYESHA RASCOE: ...More town halls and rallies...

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DONALD TRUMP: Or perhaps they know they're losing, 'cause we're doing very well. They know - they know how well we're doing.

AYESHA RASCOE: ...More polls showing no decisive lead for either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. And this past week - an F word.

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JOHN KELLY: Well, I'm looking at the definition of fascism.

AYESHA RASCOE: That's John Kelly, former President Trump's longest-serving chief of staff, speaking to The New York Times.

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KELLY: Certainly the former president is in the far-right area. He's certainly an authoritarian and admires people who are dictators - he has said that. So he certainly falls in into the general definition of fascist.

AYESHA RASCOE: The Atlantic magazine also had this reporting on Trump. Quote, "As his presidency drew to a close, and in the years since, he has become more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship and the absolute control over the military that he believes it would deliver." Harris quickly incorporated these words, and John Kelly's, into her campaign.

Here's some of what the candidates said last week, as they said it.

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HARRIS: So yesterday, we learned that Donald Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired four-star general, confirmed that while Donald Trump was president, he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had. Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution. He wants a military that is loyal to him.

TRUMP: They made a statement that I'm like Hitler. It just couldn't be further from the truth. It's just the opposite, actually.

BRIAN KILMEADE: ...Obviously has frustration, and I could absolutely see him go now, you know what? It would be great to have German generals that actually do what we ask them to do, knowing that's the third - maybe not fully - fully being cognizant of the third rail of German generals were Nazis and whatever.

TRUMP: We're like a garbage can for the world. That's what's happened. That's what's happened. We're like a garbage can. You know, it's the first time I've ever said that. And every time I come up and talk about what they've done to our country, I get angrier and angrier. First time I've ever said garbage can, but you know what? It's a very accurate description. Meanwhile, she cruelly forced our border agents to help facilitate her wicked betrayal of America, and by the way...

If you have a smart - really the right president, the smart president, you're not going to have a problem. And I say it to people. We have a bigger problem, in my opinion, with the enemy from within, and it drives them crazy when I use that term. But we have an enemy from within. We have people that are really bad people, that I really think want to make this country unsuccessful. When you look at what's happening at our border, Joe, when you have people coming in that - when other countries are allowed to empty their prisons into our country with murderers.

HARRIS: And I will tell you, as I travel our country, there is an overwhelming call for a fresh start. For a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited about what we can do together. There is a yearning for a president of the United States who will see you, who gets you and who will fight for you.

(CHEERING) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Ayesha Rascoe is a White House correspondent for NPR. She is currently covering her third presidential administration. Rascoe's White House coverage has included a number of high profile foreign trips, including President Trump's 2019 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, and President Obama's final NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland in 2016. As a part of the White House team, she's also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.