In a wide-ranging sit-down interview, Kamala Harris defended her economic plans, declined to say whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “close ally,” and said she would not be able to negotiate peace unless Ukraine is also represented. He said he had no intention of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was broadcast on Monday.
With the presidential race between Harris and Donald Trump in a virtual stalemate, Harris has appeared on popular podcasts, talk radio, town halls in battleground states, daytime television, late-night shows and Monday network shows. An unusually powerful media blitz campaign was launched. CBS primetime 60 minute election special.
Before Harris’ interview aired on Monday night, CBS correspondent Scott Pelley detailed Harris’ attempt to produce a similar 60-minute sit-down with Trump.
“Unfortunately, President Trump canceled it last week,” Perry told the audience. He said the Trump campaign gave “moving explanations” for why it declined to participate, including because the Republican candidate did not want to be fact-checked.
Instead, the network aired an interview with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, in which he said Perry was “paying the price for Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.” Ta. The county’s election director lost the July primary to a Republican opponent who called Maricopa County’s elections a “laughing joke.”
In an interview with Harris, CBS’ Bill Whitaker talked about plans to build millions of new homes, tax breaks for new parents, $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and more. He pressed her on how she would pay for economic proposals that included: The vice president vowed to make the nation’s billionaires and corporations pay their “fair share,” but Whittaker doubted that solution.
“We’re dealing with the real world here,” he said, asking how he would convince Congress to raise taxes on the nation’s highest earners. Harris insisted that if she were president, there would be members of Congress who would listen to her arguments.
An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan group that seeks to reduce the deficit, was released Monday, finding that Harris’ economic proposals would increase the federal debt by up to $8.1 trillion by 2035, or not at all. It turned out that there was no effect. . Meanwhile, President Trump’s plan could increase the national debt by up to $15.15 trillion over the same period.
“We can’t afford to be short-sighted in how we think about strengthening the American economy,” Harris said in an interview. “Let me tell you something. I’m a pious public servant. You know I’m a capitalist too, and I know the limits of government.”
Harris sidestepped the difficult question of whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “really close ally,” saying: “The better question is, is there a significant alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes.”
Excerpts of that exchange were released on Sunday ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ deadly cross-border attack on Israel. In a sign that Harris intends to pay close attention to Biden’s approach to foreign policy, the vice president said that Israel has the right to defend itself and that “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.” “There is,” he added. The Israeli war overran Gaza and killed about 42,000 Palestinians.
In a series of questions about Ukraine’s future, Harris firmly ruled out bilateral talks with Putin to discuss an end to the bitter war without involving the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. No,” Harris said.
She also warned again about what could happen if Trump becomes president. “Donald Trump, if he were president, President Putin would be sitting in Kiev by now. He says, ‘Oh, we can finish it on day one.’ You know what it is. It’s about surrender. ”
During the pre-recorded interview, which aired in its entirety on Monday, Harris defended her ideological shift to centrist politics and insisted that her “values remain the same” as ever.
She said she toured the country as vice president and emphasized the need to find “common ground” by working to pass bipartisan legislation in Congress.
“I believe in consensus building,” she said.
Harris was also asked about the gun she said she owned at an event with Oprah Winfrey last month, and she declared, “If someone breaks into my house, I’m going to get shot,” and the host said: It drew laughter from the audience. On 60 Minutes, Harris said he owns a Glock, citing his career as California’s top law enforcement officer. When asked if he had ever fired a gun, Harris laughed and replied, “Of course I have.” “At the shooting range. Yes.”
Part of the 60 Minutes special included a segment asking Harris about her disagreements with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
Walz said with a shy smile that she wished Harris had been “a little more careful” in her public comments. Since becoming a vice presidential candidate, Walz has made several statements in the past, including an explanation of his military service and whether he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre, a reference to the pro-democracy movement that led to the massacre. I needed to. In June 1989, several hundred people participated.
Walz dismissed the remarks during last week’s vice presidential debate, saying he had “misspoken” and could be “sometimes a bigot.” But Whitaker pressed on whether that was false reporting and whether Americans could trust him if a Democrat wins in November.
Walz drew a clear line between himself and Trump, calling him a “pathological liar” and saying voters can trust him as vice president.
“I admit that I am a stooge at times, but those closest to me know that I keep my word,” he said.
The 60 Minutes interview was part of a week-long media push on the Democratic ticket that began with Harris’ appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Sunday. She will also be participating in a Univision town hall in Nevada on Thursday, as well as interviewing Howard Stern on SiriusXM and appearing on The View and Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Scheduled. Waltz, a Los Angeles native, made his late-night television debut when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He also recorded conversations on the SmartLess podcast and made his first appearance on the Sunday show last weekend, asking tough questions about his views on abortion, immigration, the economy and his past false statements in an interview on FOX News Sunday. answered.
Taken together, this represents a sharp change of pace after two and a half months in which the vice president has largely resisted such interactions.
Before boarding Air Force Two for New York on Monday afternoon, Harris answered several questions from reporters.
Asked about reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored the vice president’s call to discuss recovery efforts as the state prepares for Hurricane Milton to make landfall, Harris said Republicans are “politically motivated.” “They are playing a game of tactics.”
“We’re in the middle of an emergency and it’s completely irresponsible and selfish,” she said.
He also accused President Trump of being “incredibly irresponsible” for spreading falsehoods about his administration’s response to Hurricane Helen, which hit the southern Appalachians and killed more than 220 people in six states.
“There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation being spread by the former president, especially about what is available to survivors of Helen,” she said. “It’s extremely irresponsible. It’s about him. It’s not about you.”
