Harris Defends Biden
Harris Defends Biden: The U.S. Vice President, after leading among Democratic Party candidates, defended the Biden administration’s economic record in her first media interview as a Democratic candidate for the presidential election and confirmed that the current U.S. policy on managing the Israel-Hamas war will not change.
According to Shargh, Dana Bash, a political reporter and CNN anchor, interviewed Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota. This interview was recorded in a local restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, owned by an African American.
Harris and Walz traveled to the state of Georgia by bus this week and visited rural and suburban communities to garner support in swing states.
Following the announcement of her candidacy on July 21, Harris traveled across the country and reduced former President Donald Trump’s lead over Joe Biden in national and state polls.
However, apart from brief conversations with reporters during her campaign, Harris has not engaged much with the press.
Earlier this month, she promised to conduct an impromptu interview before September, which led to criticism from Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, who participate in various interviews.
CNN released a brief preview of this interview on Thursday evening. Bash asked Harris about changes in her policies since the end of the 2019 presidential campaign.
Bash asked how voters should deal with some of the changes you have made and some of the policies you have explained. Can they be reassured and confident that what you say today will be part of your policy in the future?
Harris responded, ‘The most important and fundamental aspect of my views and decisions is that my values have not changed.’
You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed in and worked on the issue that the climate crisis is a serious and urgent matter, and we must implement measures to prevent missing deadlines. My value regarding what we must do to secure the borders has not changed.
Harris also pledged that if she wins the November election, she will include a Republican in her cabinet.
She said, ‘I think it’s very important to have people at the table with different perspectives and experiences when it comes to making important decisions.’
Harris defended the Biden administration’s economic record, citing job creation figures and the fastest economic recovery among wealthy countries after the COVID-19 pandemic as successes over the past four years.
The U.S. Vice President insisted that her values have not changed, saying, ‘I think the most important and fundamental aspect of my policy and decisions is that my values have not changed.’
Accompanied by Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota and her running mate, in the interview, she assured that voters are much more concerned about Donald Trump’s plans, regardless of her own.
Regarding immigration, Harris said she previously supported a bipartisan plan that included a multi-million dollar budget for building a border wall and, as President, she will do everything to sign and implement this plan.
Harris, who previously supported closing migrant detention centers and decriminalizing illegal border crossings, said that illegal entry into the country should have consequences for those individuals, and she will enforce the law in this regard.
However, Harris refrained from explicitly endorsing criminal penalties for illegal immigrants. The U.S. Vice President also declared her unwavering support for Israel’s security regarding the Middle East conflict, adding that how Israel defends itself is important.
She noted that many innocent Palestinians have lost their lives during Israel’s response to the October 7 attack and called for a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator James David Vance, during an election rally in Pennsylvania, defended Donald Trump’s recent meeting with the families of 13 American soldiers killed at Kabul airport in August 2021 and criticized Kamala Harris for ignoring the investigation into this case, saying she can go to hell.
James David Vance stated that 13 American soldiers were killed at Kabul airport, but not a single person was fired for the negligence and inattentiveness that caused this incident.
The Republican senator called Kamala Harris’s neglect of this case shameful, saying Harris is unwilling to investigate what happened to the 13 American soldiers. The chaotic and deadly withdrawal of the Biden administration from Afghanistan and the neglect of the case of the 13 American soldiers killed at Kabul airport has become one of the main topics in the U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump’s campaign team continuously refers to the Biden administration and Kamala Harris as the agents of America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which damaged the U.S.’s credibility and power in the world.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump criticized Harris’s statements in this interview during a ceremony in Wisconsin, saying he doesn’t see her as fit to lead America. He said she was sitting behind that big desk and didn’t look like a leader to me.
Honestly, I don’t see her in a position to negotiate with the President of China or Kim Jong Un.
Kamala Harris also stated in this interview that she hopes to be the president of all Americans and is seeking to appoint a Republican in her cabinet as a sign of pursuing bipartisan consensus.
Without naming anyone specifically, she said, ‘I think having a Republican as a member of my cabinet will benefit the American public.’