Harris Defends Flip-Flopping On Policies In First Interview As Presidential Nominee
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Kamala Harris has defended her seemingly overnight policy position shifts since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
Speaking in her first interview since taking on the party mantle, she said, “I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed.”
Critics saw her focus on “values” as an escape from her perceived flip-flopping on issues ranging from border security and migration to fracking.
In the edited interview with U.S. network CNN, which was pre-recorded in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, Harris referenced her time “prosecuting transnational, criminal organizations” as California attorney general.
However, she did not explain how she has held far more progressive immigration views as a senator and in her 2020 presidential campaign.
Harris had previously advocated for the closure of immigration detention centers and the decriminalization of illegal crossings.
However, she now says, “It is important to build consensus and find a common understanding of where we can actually solve problems.”
REPUBLICAN INVITED
That’s why she will put a Republican in her administration if elected as the next president in November, the vice-president pledged.
During her travels across the country as vice president, she noticed that “ it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place to understand where we can actually solve problems.”
Harris committed to wanting someone “who was a Republican” in her presidential cabinet. She said this would fulfill her promise to be a president “for all Americans.”
“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.”
Former President Donald J. Trump dismissed the CNN interview, saying:
“Why isn’t it live? It’s not a live interview. It’s an interview that’s going to be taped and then edited, and then put out. So that’s not even an interview. Then she’s doing it with her vice president (nominee) sitting there.”
Harris was accompanied by her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, for the prime-time appearance, a decision that fuelled growing criticism that after escaping the rigors of a months-long presidential primary, she now dodges the scrutiny that comes with a solo interview.
It has been over a month since Harris emerged as the Democratic nominee following President Biden’s dramatic exit from the 2024 race.
FACING SCRUTINY
She had been facing scrutiny for avoiding interviews and press conferences, which only intensified after last week’s Democratic convention.
She did not address that controversy but tried to reach out to families about child credits of $6,000 and $ 25,000 for first-time home buyers.
On foreign policy, she stressed: “I am unwavering in my support of Israel. About 1,200 were killed. Israel has the right to defend itself. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
However, she said, “We have to get a deal done. I have met the families of hostages. We have to work to a two-state solution in which Palestinians have also self-denomination.”
She said that on Day 1, as president, she would focus on the economy. She said that her administration would start by focusing on the middle class, extending the child tax credit, lowering the costs of groceries, and tackling affordable housing.
But she also tried to make the election about change in a way that can be challenging for a sitting vice president, trying to run on the accomplishments of the last three and a half years.
“I think that people are ready for a new way forward, in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by, by hope and by optimism,” she said. “I think sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing an agenda and in an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation, and I think people are ready to turn the page on that.”
On climate and environmental issues,
Harris also confirmed her reversal on fracking, saying she cast the tiebreaking vote for President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, which contained some provisions intended to boost oil and gas leasing on federal lands.
Asked about Trump publicly expressing doubts about whether she is Black, she said: “It is an old-tried playbook, next question, please.”
DEBATING TRUMP
She will debate him on September 10.
Harris recalled when Biden told her he would drop out of the race and endorse her. “It was a Sunday; we had just had pancakes. We were just sitting down for a puzzle. Then he called me. I think history will show that there were so many efforts in a new economy that we brought allies together. And I think history is going to show his character.”
Walz was asked about his character decades after ultimately pleading to a reduced charge of reckless driving after the 1995 incident, which caused his critics to resurface and question his fitness to serve. He clarified that he learned of mistakes but that people know his record.
Walz also recalled that he” misspoke” in a 2018 video circulated by the Harris campaign earlier this week, in which the vice presidential candidate talked about his handling of weapons “in war.”
He said he had served in the military but that he spoke about war in school shooting situations.
Walz also said he no longer drinks alcohol and instead prefers Diet Mountain Dew — the same drink that, curiously enough, is favored by the Republican candidate for vice president, JD Vance.