Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Melania Trump. Photo:
Andrew Harnik/Getty; Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
Donald Trump compared Kamala Harris to his wife, Melania Trump, while complimenting her “beautiful” appearance on the cover of Time magazine.
On Monday, Aug. 12, the Republican presidential nominee, 78, participated in a virtual interview with Elon Musk, 53, on X Spaces. During the conversation, Trump called Harris, 59, “terrible,” before changing the subject to focus on the art used in Time’s new cover story about his opponent.
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“I saw a picture of [Harris] on Time magazine today. She looks like the most beautiful actress ever to live,” he said. “Actually, she looked very much like our great first lady, Melania.”
“She didn’t look like Kamala, that’s right,” he continued. “But of course, she’s a beautiful woman, so we’ll leave it at that.”
The portrait of Harris was illustrated by artist Neil Jamieson and based on a real Getty image.
Kamala Harris appears on the cover of Time magazine in August 2024.
Neil Jamieson/TIME
Trump spoke with a notable lisp on Monday night and continued his tradition of pronouncing Harris’ name incorrectly throughout the call, opting to refer to her as “Camilla” in the portion about her appearance.
Harris appeared on the cover of Time magazine on Monday in a story that details her quick rise as the new leader of the Democratic Party.
“Within a week, Harris erased Trump’s polling dominance in key states, turning a burgeoning landslide into a dead heat,” the piece notes, as it was reported last week that Republicans no longer have the advantage in three key swing states.
During the conversation, Musk fawned over Trump, calling him “the path to prosperity” while also claiming that Harris “is the opposite.”
The tech mogul endorsed Trump after he was nearly assassinated at his July 13 campaign rally. Musk posted on X at the time, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also owns X (formerly Twitter).
Theo Wargo/WireImage
Musk later wrote on social media that he would be “happy” to host a conversation with Harris on the platform as well, though Harris’ campaign has been critical of Musk.
“Donald Trump’s extremism and dangerous Project 2025 agenda is a feature not a glitch of his campaign, which was on full display for those unlucky enough to listen in tonight during whatever that was on X.com,” Harris 2024 spokesperson Joseph Costello said in a statement on Monday.
“Trump’s entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself — self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024,” Costello continued.
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The livestream got off to a late start after about nearly an hour of being on hold, which Musk blamed on a “massive” cyber attack.
Trump and Harris are scheduled to debate for the first time on Sept. 10 on ABC News. Trump has proposed two additional debates, on Sept. 4 and Sept. 25, that have not yet been arranged.