Trump-Harris debate: Sen Rick Scott identifies 'biggest thing' that can help former president

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Harris campaign says VP will draw 'clear contrast' with Trump at debate

Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams joined 'Fox & Friends' from Wilmington, Delaware, to preview the ABC News Presidential Debate between VP Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., revealed the "biggest thing" he believes can help former President Donald Trump in his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia. 

During Tuesday night's debate in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Scott said that "the best thing Trump can get her to do is if she could talk 99% of the time."

"It'll be interesting to see which Kamala Harris shows up," Scott told Fox News Digital. "The Harris that has been part of the Biden administration that has opened the border, ruined the economy and … stopped supporting Israel and allowed Iran to have all the weapons, or is it a new Harris that, you know, that believes the border ought to be secure, and we ought to get inflation under control by allowing free markets to work … allowing oil and gas production in this country so we can get the gas prices down. So it'll be interesting to see which Harris shows up."

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"I think the biggest thing is make sure that Harris talks," Scott, a Trump 2024 campaign surrogate, said. "When she talks, no one, almost nobody agrees with her – maybe some socialists would. So I think the biggest thing is for her to talk about her ideas, whether it's to talk about the border, talk about the economy, talk about foreign policy ... there is no logic to her thought process."

"When she talks about price controls, that just means product shortages," the senator said during a phone interview Monday morning. "When she talks about the border, people say, 'Well, why didn't she do it now?' And because everything she says she's going to do, I mean, I think the first reaction everybody has is 'Well, why didn't you do it?'"

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., tells Fox News Digital about the time he served with then-Sen. Kamala Harris on the Senate Homeland Security Committee that she cared about getting on TV, not about policy. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

Scott said ABC News moderators should ask Harris during the debate if she will apologize to the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the August 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. He also said the moderators should ask what Harris has to say to the families in this country who "can't afford grocery prices and gas prices and rent because of the inflation she and Joe Biden caused."

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Scott, who sat next to Harris for two years on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said he noticed during that time that she "wasn't serious about any policy issues," but "was serious about getting on television."

After plenty of debate over the debate, both camps agreed to adhere to the same rules that governed the Biden-Trump debate. The most contentious rule – the microphones will once again be muted during an opponent's responses, which pundits see as a victory for Trump. As with the June debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta, there will be no studio audience.

The moderators, ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only ones asking questions, according to the rules.

When asked about how the Republican nominee should appeal to women during the debate amid recent polling indicating Harris has an advantage over Trump when it comes to female voters, Scott said Trump should talk about important issues like the economy, education and keeping people safe, which he argues "resonates with all men and all women." 

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. (Getty)

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"I think letting men playing women's sports resonates to women, but I think it also resonates to men," Scott said. "And I think – just make sure Harris talks about what she believes in, and I think it turns people off." 

Fox News Digital also asked whether Trump should mention during the debate a piece of legislation called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. 

Some Republicans, including Scott, have pushed for the SAVE Act to be attached to a spending bill extension to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. 
 

ABC News signage is installed inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center one day before the presidential debate on Sept. 9, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Do you think specifically Trump should mention the SAVE act and the concern about illegal immigrants, noncitizens voting in this upcoming election?" Fox News Digital asked. 

"Yes," Scott said. "As I travel around Florida because I'm up this year, one of the things that comes up in every talk is, you know, are they going to steal the election. So I think it's important to people."

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"So I'm hopeful, hopefully it will pass the House," Scott said of the bill. "And then, you know, unless Schumer wants to shut down government, he'll pass it out of the Senate." 

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.