Kamala Harris defends policy shifts on key issues in first interview

US Vice President Kamala Harris argued in her first interview since entering the presidential race that she has changed her mind on key issues.

The Democratic nominee was pressed on why her policies on immigration and fracking have changed since she ran for president in 2019.

“I think the most important and important aspect of my policy views and decisions is that my values ​​have not changed,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash.

Ms. Harris was under pressure to eventually face questions, but she shared a 27-minute prerecorded interview with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, ended his comments with just one word.

“BORING!!!” the former president wrote in The Truth Society.

The vice president has been forced to defend the White House’s economic record as inflation and high living costs continue to sting Americans’ wallets. Polls regularly show voters prefer Republican candidate Donald Trump’s handling of the economy.

But the most tense exchange between Ms. Harris and CNN interviewer Dana Bash centered on the assertion that the Democratic candidate’s policy positions had “changed” during her time as vice president and presidential candidate.

Ms. Harris cited her efforts to combat climate change and her support for the Green New Deal, a Democratic proposal to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, as she faced pressure to shift her policy stance. Still a firm value.

“I’ve always believed, and I’ve worked hard, that the climate crisis is real and it’s an urgent issue,” she said.

The vice president pointed to the Biden administration’s work on the Inflation Reduction Act, which infused hundreds of billions of dollars into renewable energy and electric vehicle tax credit and rebate programs.

“We set goals for the U.S. and globally for when we should meet certain standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Ms. Harris did not explain her change of stance on banning fracking.

Ms. Harris said at a 2019 CNN town hall meeting, “There is no question that I am in favor of banning fracking.” Ticket new fracking lease.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, she said: “As president, I will not ban fracking.”

Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on social media that the Biden administration’s “clean energy investments have demonstrated the ability to make progress on climate without reverting to past positions.”

Ms. Harris held more progressive views on immigration when she was a senator and during her 2020 presidential campaign.

But when it came to “securing the border,” Ms. Harris said “my values ​​have not changed,” citing her time as California’s attorney general in “prosecuting transnational criminal organizations.”

Earlier this year, the vice president supported a strong bipartisan border security deal that included hundreds of millions of dollars for border wall construction.

Trump has pressured congressional Republicans to terminate the deal, but Ms Harris pledged to “sign it into law” if elected. In an interview with CNN, she promised to pass the exam again.

Explaining her moderate views on immigration, the Democratic candidate told CNN that her travels around the country as vice president made her “believe that consensus building is important, that it’s important to find a common ground of understanding where we can Really do this to “solve the problem”.

Along these lines, Ms. Harris pledged to include “Republicans” in her presidential cabinet. She said it would fulfill her promise to be president “for all Americans.”

“I’ve spent my career attracting diverse opinions. I think it’s important to include people with different viewpoints when making some of our most important decisions.”

Ms Harris was also asked about the Gaza war and reiterated the White House position that both Israel and Hamas must “make a deal” and that Palestinians should have their own state, adjacent to Israel.

“This war must end and we must reach an agreement to free the hostages,” she said.

She will not commit to an arms embargo on Israel, as some on the left of her party have demanded.

Walz, who served in the U.S. National Guard for decades, was asked to clarify his remarks about “carrying” an assault rifle in “war.”

The campaign clarified that Mr. Walz had never been to a war zone.

In the interview, the governor said he was “emotionally agitated” and spoke “passionately” about gun crime in schools when he made the inaccurate remarks.

This “enthusiasm” also extended to his false assertion that his wife underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to conceive the child, which has become a political lightning rod in the debate over abortion in the United States.

She received intrauterine insemination, not in vitro fertilization, although doctors say the two fertilization treatments are often used interchangeably.

Mr Walz said his record spoke for itself. He said he did not believe Americans would “cut the hair” between the two.

The Minnesota governor was also asked about his son Gus, who went viral when he proudly declared “that’s my dad” at the Democratic National Convention.

“It was a heartfelt, emotional moment and I’m grateful I got to experience it — and I’m so proud of him.”

Ms. Harris described the moment President Biden called her to tell her of his decision to end his re-election campaign in July.

She said her family was visiting her when she received the call. They had just eaten pancakes and bacon and were doing puzzles.

Asked if she sought his approval, Ms Harris said: “My first thought wasn’t about me, to be honest, my first thought was about him.”

The vice president also insisted the president could have served again.

“He is incredibly smart and I spent hours with him in the Oval Office and the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, commitment, judgment and character that I think the American people deserve in their president.”

Trump, by comparison, does not possess these qualities, she said.

Ms. Harris has been criticized by Republicans and some experts for refusing so far to hold press conferences or make public in-depth interviews. Her critics believe she is avoiding challenges to her record.

Her appearance on CNN marked her first substantive interview since Biden dropped out of the race.

Ms. Bash, the CNN reporter who interviewed Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz, was one of the moderators of the June 27 debate between Biden and Trump.

Biden’s disastrous performance in that debate is widely seen as triggering the president’s withdrawal from the race.