The vice president defended shifting away from some of her more liberal positions and declined to engage with Donald Trump’s attacks on her racial identity.
US Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris has given her first televised interview since her nomination, addressing issues where she has previously faced criticism for changing her positions — and saying she is open in principle to appointing a Republican to her cabinet.
She also declined to engage with Donald Trump’s widely condemned attacks on her racial identity.
The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash came as voters continue to learn about the Democratic ticket in an unusually compressed time frame. President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid just five weeks ago. Since then, Harris has surged in the polls and drawn a record fundraising haul.
Asked if she would appoint someone from the other major party to serve in her cabinet, Harris said she would.
“No-one in particular in mind, I’ve got 68 days to go of this election so I’m not putting the cart before the horse, but I would.”
“I think it’s really important — I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences, and I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican.”
Numerous Republicans appeared at the Democratic National Convention in support of Harris, many of them making the case that members of their party have a moral obligation to defeat Trump in November because of his egregious conduct during and since his time in office.
Among those Democratic presidents who have had Republicans in their cabinet is Barack Obama, who held over Robert Gates as secretary of defence after he served in George W. Bush’s administration. In his second term, Obama appointed Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to the same post.
The rest of the discussion focused mainly on policy, as Harris sought to demonstrate that she had adopted more moderate positions on various issues, countering Republicans’ accusations that she was radical or even extreme.
Sitting with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris was asked specifically about her reversals on banning fracking and decriminalising illegal border crossings, positions she took during her last run for president in 2019.
She confirmed she does not want to ban fracking, which has become key to the economy of Pennsylvania, a critically important swing state.
She also said there “should be consequences” for people who cross the US border without permission — pointing out that Donald Trump had pressed Congressional Republicans to vote down a bipartisan bill that would have been the most significant border security legislation passed in decades.
“Through bipartisan work, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress, a bill was crafted which we supported, which I support,” Harris said. “And Donald Trump got word of this bill that would have contributed to securing our border. And because he believes that it would not have helped him politically. He told his folks in Congress, don’t put it forward. He killed the bill.”
Harris also explained she wants to create what she calls an “opportunity economy”, part of her explicit appeal to the middle class.
“What we’re going to do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re going to do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re going to do to invest in families. There’s the work that we’re going to do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now,” she said.
The proposals also include a child tax credit, another measure that Republicans have blocked in the Senate.
‘Next question, please’
Harris had faced criticism from Republicans and much of the US press corps for not giving an in-depth interview until now, though she has been campaigning constantly in swing states as well as appearing at her party’s convention.
Once it was announced, she was mocked on the right for bringing Walz with her, even though joint interviews with nominees and their running mates are a standard event after the party conventions on both sides of the political divide.
“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris said.
“I believe it is important to build consensus. It is important to find a common place of understanding where we can actually solve the problem.”
Bash also asked Harris to respond to Trump’s attacks on her identity after she became the Democratic candidate.
The former president falsely claimed in front of an audience that Harris, whose mother was Indian and father Jamaican, had “become black” after identifying herself as Indian for years.
“Same old tired playbook,” Harris said, laughing. “Next question, please.”
