Forty days after succeeding Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee and a week after accepting the nomination in Chicago, Kamala Harris gave her first media interview on CNN. Her vice president, Tim Walz, also accompanied her to her nomination, something Republicans criticized him for. Throughout the 30-minute conversation, Harris embraced the Biden administration’s handling of issues including the economy, immigration and the war in Gaza.
When reporter Dana Bash asked Harris whether her policy on sending weapons to Israel would change from President Biden’s, Harris said “no” and deflected the question to the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
-Harris: “This war has to stop and we have to reach an agreement to free the hostages. I have spoken to the families of the American hostages. Let’s free the hostages. Let’s reach a ceasefire.»
-Bash: “But without a change in policy on armaments etc.?»
-Harris: “No, I have to close the deal [sobre el alto el fuego en Gaza]. Dana, we have to close the deal. “When you see the importance of this, for the families, for the people who live in this region… a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war, but it will unlock a lot of what comes next.” .
The answer is not surprising, but it is one of the most explicit to date. Since Harris became the Democratic nominee, the party’s most progressive wing and pro-Palestinian voices have pushed for a change in relations with Israel. The vice president has always been more critical than Biden of Tel Aviv’s actions and has also shown greater sensitivity to the suffering of the Palestinians, which is why some groups hoped that her replacement would bring about a change on this issue.
With last night’s “no,” Harris sent the message that she will not be intimidated by pressure and confirms what was already seen at the Democratic convention in Chicago. The Democratic Party rejected the request of a Palestinian-American to speak on the stage of the United Center, after the family of an American hostage captured by Hamas on October 7 did so.
Harris once again showed her sensitivity to what is happening in Gaza, assuring that “too many innocent Palestinians” have died – more than 40,000 in nearly eleven months of war – but also insisted on her “unequivocal and firm commitment to the defense of Israel.” “Israel has the right to defend itself and how it does so matters,” he said.
“I have remained committed since October 8 to working toward a two-state solution, in which Israel is secure and, in equal measure, Palestinians enjoy security, self-determination, and dignity,” Harris said. Advocacy for the two-state solution is something Biden has also called for throughout the conflict. Without going further, in his State of the Union address in March, the president already mentioned this path as the solution to the conflict.
Defeating the Biden administration
The CNN interview was an opportunity for Harris to present a more complete vision of what her presidency would look like if elected on November 5, but she once again repeated the same rhetoric and proposals she has already presented. When Bash asked her what she would do on her first day in the Oval Office, Harris assured that she would establish an “opportunity economy” and once again appealed to measures she had already presented in North Carolina, such as banning “speculation” on food prices.
Faced with this response, Bash pointed to the fact that Harris had been vice president for three years and why it was only now that she put these proposals on the table. Given this, the Democrat deflected the subject by highlighting the economic situation in which she and Biden found themselves when they arrived at the White House in 2020 after the pandemic: “We had to recover as an economy first and we did that. “I’m very proud of the work that we did that brought inflation down below 3%.” Harris tried to avoid the economic snapshot of the Trump administration between 2017 and 2019, when shopping cart prices were lower and housing was more affordable, to situate the starting point in the collapse caused by the health crisis.
On border management with Mexico, Harris also offered no concrete proposals and focused on attacking Donald Trump for encouraging the blocking of the bill to strengthen the situation. “Trump blocked this bill that would have helped secure our border, and he did it because he thought it would help him politically. He told his people in Congress not to bring it forward. “That killed the bill, a border security bill that would have put 1,500 more agents on the border,” he said.
To show her position on immigration, Harris recalled her work as a prosecutor in California: “I think there have to be ways in which we have laws that address people who are crossing our border illegally, and it has to be clear in this race that I am the person that I went after for gun and drug trafficking, that I worked in a border state as attorney general to enforce our laws, and that I will enforce our laws as president in the future.”
While she has skewed slightly more left than Biden on the economy, much of Harris’ agenda represents a shift toward the center and continues the legacy of her last three years in office. Especially compared to her participation in the 2020 primary, where she was quickly disqualified. Bash raised this issue and asked Harris what voters should expect from this shift. “I think the most important and significant aspect of my perspective and my political decisions is that my values have not changed.”
A Republican in his cabinet
One of the news items of the evening was the announcement that she would include a Republican in her cabinet if she becomes president. “I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. “I think when certain decisions are being made, it is important to have people at the table with different perspectives and experiences, and I think that will benefit the American people,” Harris said.
The statement is intended to reinforce the message of unity and reconciliation that he outlined in his speech in Chicago. Once again, Harris is seeking to reach beyond the party’s base to swing voters and conservatives disaffected by Trump.
On Trump’s attacks, which questioned her blackness and claimed he was using the label to campaign, Harris didn’t want to give him space: “Same old stuff. Next question, please.” His speed in addressing the issue is also an example of how little he gives his rival and shows the new framework in which Democrats are now attacking Trump: giving him a taste of his own medicine and reducing him to a self-centered role.
In general, Harris has continued with the tactic of not getting too involved with her agenda so as not to give her rival material to attack her. And it worked. Trump called the CNN interview “boring.” The campaign team wants to prevent the vice president’s candidacy from deteriorating too quickly and is also seeking to extend the deadline moment without having to get wet any more than necessary.
Biden’s resignation
After taking office, Harris had yet to explain what the moment was like when Biden told her he was withdrawing from the race. “We were sitting down doing a puzzle, and the phone rang and it was Joe Biden and he told me he had decided to retire,” she said. Harris said her first thought was not of her “but of him.” “He said, ‘I’m going to get out of the race and I’m going to support you as the candidate.'”
“I think history will show that not only did Joe Biden lead an administration that achieved these extraordinary successes, but the character of this man showed throughout his life and his career, including as president, that he was quite selfless and he put the American people first,” Harris said, showing obvious affection not only for Biden’s legacy but for him as a person.
Walz, a difficult and easy question
As for Tim Walz, the vice presidential candidate had his own awkward question about his National Guard service. The reporter asked the vice president about his claims that he carried weapons “into war” when he was never sent to one. Walz argued that his “record speaks for itself” and that “without it, [los republicanos] They attack my kids for showing me love, or my dog. In recent days, Republicans have also attacked him for sharing a photo with a dog that wasn’t his and for gushing images seen at the Democratic convention with his son Gus.
The easy question was about the viral image of Chicago when his son appeared on screen saying, “That’s my dad” and crying. Walz described it as a “visceral, emotional moment.” Walz once again sounded natural and calm when speaking, without appearing particularly uncomfortable with tough questions.
