Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with CNN's Dana Bash Thursday night on one of the most highly-anticipated conversations since she and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz launched their sprint for the White House ahead of the November elections. During the meeting, they doubled down on many of the issues that were once considered political vulnerabilities, including immigration.
The interview was conducted in the battleground of the state of Georgia, with the Vice President and Bash beginning their conversation in the vice presidential plane, and later meeting at Kim's Cafe in Savannah.
Throughout the conversation, Harris stood by the Biden administration's record, choosing not to distance herself from him on issues where the public sees him as a weakness.
One of those key issues is immigration. Following an unprecedented rise in unauthorized migrant crossings through the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration has come under fire for their seemingly lenient policies. Republicans— led by former President Donald Trump— have also taken the opportunity to dub the Vice President as the "border czar" due to her prior involvement in dealing with the "root causes" of immigration.
But instead of focusing on potential weaknesses, Harris decided to turn the conversation to Trump, blaming him for killing a bipartisan deal earlier this year that would have increased funding for the border and potentially helped crossings decrease.
"Through bipartisan work, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress, a bill was crafted, which we supported, which I support. And Donald Trump got word of this bill that would have contributed to securing our border and because he believed it would not have helped him politically, he told his folks in Congress, 'Don't put it forward'." Harris said.
But despite that bipartisan bill failing in the Senate, migrant apprehensions at the border have drastically fallen throughout the year, which the Vice President surprisingly did not emphasize.
The Vice President did, however, try to frame her stances as consistent, with Bash pushing her to give a more expansive explanation as to why she's changed her positions on different issues, like immigration and fracking. She asserted that her values have remained consistent, but her time as vice president provided a new perspective on some of the country's most pressing issues.
"I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is that my values have not changed," Harris said. "You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed— and I have worked on it— that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time."
Harris was also asked about the Israel-Hamas war, one of the most divisive issues within the party, as well as the administration. She reiterated her support for a "two-state solution" between Israel and Gaza.
"I'm unequivocal— and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself. And that's not gonna change," she said. The vice president also said "we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out."
The Democratic nominee was accompanied by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who mostly focused on his speaking mistakes at different points throughout his career, including his deployment to a war zone and his wife's fertilization treatments, alleging that he simply misspoke and that his wife, who is an English teacher, tells him that his grammar isn't always correct.
Walz also addressed his detractors' attack on his son, Gus Walz, after he was seen crying during the Democratic National Convention. "If it's not this, it's an attack on my children for showing love for me or it's an attack on my dog."
After the interview was aired, Trump seemingly gave his review through his social media platform, Truth Social. "BORING!!!" he simply wrote.
Bash revealed CNN has also reached out to the Trump-Vance campaign to schedule a sit-down interview, but no conversation has yet been scheduled. The next highly-anticipated event of the 2024 general election season is expected to be Sept. 10, when Harris and Trump face each other in their first presidential debate, hosted by ABC.
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