Kamala Harris defends her coverage modifications in first interview: 'My values haven't modified' 

Vice President Kamala Harris was pressed about her coverage evolutions Thursday in her first interview since she grew to become the Democratic Social gathering’s presidential nominee, sitting alongside her operating mate, Tim Walz.

The extremely anticipated interview, with CNN’s Dana Bash, got here after stress had been constructing for Harris to reply extra questions from neutral journalists and absolutely sketch out how her imaginative and prescient differs from that of President Joe Biden. She has a largely averted doing both within the 39 days since he determined to not run for re-election and endorsed her, as an alternative. 

“I believe a very powerful and most important side of my coverage perspective,” Harris mentioned when she was requested about her coverage evolutions, “is that my values haven’t modified.” 

She acknowledged, nevertheless, that her expertise as vice chairman has led her to replace her views on sure points. 

“I imagine it is very important construct consensus and it is very important discover a widespread place of understanding of the place we will really remedy issues,” Harris added, seemingly nodding to how political realities might have influenced her views. 

Harris ran for president in 2019 on a progressive agenda that included “Medicare for All,” a Inexperienced New Deal and a ban on hydraulic fracturing, a way of harvesting pure gasoline or oil referred to as “fracking.” That marketing campaign flamed out, and when Biden selected Harris to be his operating mate, she naturally adopted his agenda and platform.

However with Harris atop the ticket herself now — together with a coverage panorama that has modified — it has been unclear the place she differs from the insurance policies of her 2019 marketing campaign and people of Biden, a few of that are incompatible.

Harris had not sat down for an interview or stood for a information convention since Biden stepped apart and endorsed her, which means the general public has seen her virtually solely by way of the campaign-controlled lens of rallies, net movies and final week’s Democratic Nationwide Conference. 

Another fashionable presidential candidate in historical past would have completed quite a few solo interviews all through the primaries and into the final election, lengthy earlier than they sat down with their operating mate for a joint interview in late summer time. 

However Harris had no such luxurious, given the timing of her elevation. She has needed to recalibrate her coverage positions and construct a marketing campaign infrastructure on the fly in the course of the white warmth of a presidential basic election.  

Harris can be attempting to concurrently execute a pivot to the ideological heart, as is widespread for presidential candidates heading into the November election season.

As an illustration, Harris informed Bash she now not helps a ban on fracking as a result of she has seen throughout her time as vice chairman that the U.S. can accomplish its local weather change targets with out banning the oil and gasoline extraction methodology, which is a significant business in the important thing battleground state of Pennsylvania. 

“We are able to do it with out banning fracking,” Harris mentioned. “The truth is, Dana, Dana, I forged the tiebreaking vote that truly elevated leases for fracking as vice chairman. So I’m very clear about the place I stand.” 

Nonetheless, Harris appeared defensive at occasions when she was pressed to acknowledge that she has modified positions or requested to comment on the proof that led her to vary her views. 

Requested whether or not she stood by her 2019 assist for decriminalizing unlawful border crossings, Harris didn’t reply straight however mentioned that “there ought to be penalties” for unauthorized crossings and touted her expertise prosecuting transnational gangs as “a border state legal professional basic” in California.

Harris additionally mentioned she was fascinated by appointing a Republican to her Cupboard.

“I’ve spent my profession inviting range of opinion. I believe it’s essential to have individuals on the desk when among the most essential selections are being made which have completely different views, completely different experiences,” Harris mentioned. “And I believe it will be to the good thing about the American public to have a member of my Cupboard who was a Republican.”

Walz sat silently throughout many of the interview earlier than he was requested about his personal controversies — together with moments in his previous when he appeared to play up elements of his 24 years of expertise within the Military Nationwide Guard.

In a speech after a faculty taking pictures in 2018, Walz, the governor of Minnesota, referred to the weapon that was used as being much like the one he carried “in conflict,” regardless that he had by no means seen fight. 

Walz mentioned his spouse, Gwen, an English instructor, tells him “my grammar isn’t all the time appropriate,” however he largely dismissed the controversy as Republican hooey. 

“If it’s not this, it’s an assault on my youngsters for displaying love for me, or it’s an assault on my canine — I’m not going to do this. And the one factor I’ll by no means do is I’ll by no means demean one other member’s service in any method. I by no means have, and I by no means will. I’ve been very public. I believe they will see my college students come out, former people I’ve served with, they usually do. They vouch for me. I actually personal my errors after I make them.”  

Lasting simply half-hour, the interview may cowl solely a lot floor. Many arduous questions for Harris and Walz stay unanswered. And it didn’t have time to delve into the softer-focus — however usually equally compelling to voters — subjects of the candidates’ personalities or relationship with one another. 

There have been no questions, as an example, concerning the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan or former President Donald Trump’s controversial go to to Arlington Nationwide Cemetery this week. 

Harris has confronted rising calls from Republicans and lots of within the information media to reply extra arduous questions, and the one interview is unlikely to totally quiet these forward of the Sept. 10 debate with Trump

“In case you flip [an interview] right into a exceptional occasion, then you definitely increase the stakes for your self,” David Axelrod, the previous high strategist to Barack Obama, mentioned on a CNN panel earlier than the interview.