At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on August 17, former President Donald Trump launched into a critique of Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic policies before descending into personal attacks on her appearance, asserting that he is “much better looking.”
During his speech, Trump brought up Harris’s recent appearance on the cover of TIME magazine, suggesting that the magazine had unsuccessfully attempted to photograph her and had settled for an artist’s drawing. He compared the portrayal to famous actresses Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor, questioning, “Is that Sophia Loren? Who might that be? Is that Elizabeth Taylor?”
Trump’s comments followed a column by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal, which described Harris as beautiful. Although Trump did not name Noonan directly, he referred to her as a “Reagan speechwriter” whom he deemed “highly overrated.” He criticized Noonan’s praise of Harris’s beauty, saying, “I am much better looking than her. I’m a better-looking person than Kamala.”
In response, Kamala Harris’s campaign account, Kamala HQ, shared the clip of Trump’s remarks, calling it a “meltdown” over Harris’s TIME magazine cover. Trump also expressed confidence that Harris would be an easier debate opponent than Biden, who withdrew from the race in July.
The first debate between Trump and Harris is scheduled for September 10, with the televised event set to air at 9 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.