Kamala Harris vows tougher approach on migration, supports weapons for Israel
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Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Aug 29.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAVANNAH, Georgia/WASHINGTON – Ms Kamala Harris vowed a tougher approach to migration along the US southern border and said she would not withhold weapons from Israel, in her first interview with a major news organisation since becoming the Democratic nominee for president.
In the interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash, Ms Harris sought to show she is in command of the issues and give Americans a sense of her policy positions with little more than two months until Election Day on Nov 5.
Ms Harris said she would renew a push for comprehensive border legislation that would tighten migration into the United States, and vowed to “enforce our laws” against border crossings.
“We have laws that have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequence,” she said.
She also hewed closely to President Joe Biden’s strong support of Israel and rejected calls from some in the Democratic Party that Washington should rethink sending weapons to Israel because of the heavy Palestinian death toll in Gaza.
She said she supported a strong Israel but “we must get a deal done” to get a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
“No, we have to get a (ceasefire and hostage) deal done,” Ms Harris said when asked if she would withhold weapons to Israel.
She has been Mr Biden’s vice-president since the start of his administration.
Mr Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement, which has protested against Mr Biden’s policy, expressed frustration over Ms Harris’ response on Gaza.
“If the Vice-President is interested in a ceasefire, she must support an immediate stop to sending the fire,” Mr Alawieh said.
Ms Harris, joined by her vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, also said she would like to add a Republican to her Cabinet if she wins the election.
“I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made who have different views, different experiences,” she said. “And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”
Since becoming the Democratic candidate for president in July, Ms Harris has surged in the polls, brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign donations
She leads Republican nominee Donald Trump 45 per cent to 41 per cent
Some critics suggested she might be less polished in unscripted settings like a TV interview, but she appeared to make no major mistakes on Aug 29.
Ms Harris defended her and Mr Biden’s handling of inflation, saying they inherited a pandemic-ravaged economy that she said Trump had mismanaged.
She said much work had been done to lower prices, but that “prices are still too high”.
Dr Jeremi Suri, a history and public affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said Ms Harris came across as knowledgeable and a “consensus builder” in the interview, but she could have had “more concrete and specific answers” on what she would do on her first day as president.
Ms Harris has moved more towards the centre on some issues from the time she ran for president in 2020 until she took over from President Biden
She has toughened her position on migration along the southern US border with Mexico.
She also no longer wants a ban on fracking, an energy production method that employs many people in Pennsylvania, one of a handful of swing states that could decide the election.
When asked about her policy shifts, Ms Harris said: “My values have not changed.”
She dismissed a Trump comment in which he had questioned whether she was a black American. “Same old, tired playbook,” she said. “Next question, please.”
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, responded to the interview by saying: “I look so forward to debating comrade Kamala Harris and exposing her for the fraud she is.”
Trump often falsely refers to Ms Harris as a Marxist.
Though she has taken questions from journalists on the campaign trail and been interviewed on TikTok in recent days, Ms Harris had, until Aug 29, not done a one-on-one interview with a major network or print journalist since Mr Biden ended his re-election campaign
Ms Bash, who co-moderated the June 27 debate between Trump and Mr Biden that hastened the President's departure from the race, conducted the interview in Savannah, Georgia, as Ms Harris and Mr Walz were on a bus tour. REUTERS
