By Jovonne Ledet
Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for her first major interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for president.
On Thursday (August 29), Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, were interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash while on the campaign trail in Georgia.
Harris appeared to be calm and clear with her messaging as she was questioned about changes to her positions on certain issues during the unscripted interview. The vice president specifically addressed one of those issues, fracking, which she initially opposed during her run for president in 2019.
“What I have seen is that we can grow, and we can increase a clean energy economy without banning fracking,” Harris said of the issue, noting that she cast the tie-breaking vote in Congress to expand fracking leases.
The statement marks a position change from her 2019 run when she said during a CNN town hall on climate change: “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking and starting with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands.” However, when she joined Biden’s ticket, Harris abandoned her initial position emphasizing during the 2020 vice-presidential debate: “Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that.”
During Thursday’s interview, Harris also showed she’s aiming her campaign in the middle. She discussed her position on Israel, how she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet, and committed to stronger immigration policies than she had in 2019. The Democratic nominee said she’s focused on solving problems.
“I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems,” Harris told Bash.
When asked what she would do on Day 1, Harris said she has her eyes on strengthening the middle class and implementing her “Opportunity Economy plan” to bring down prices and make homes more affordable. Specific proposals Harris touched on during the interview included extending a $6,000 child tax credit to families for the first year of a child’s life and a $25,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.
Harris said she is also aiming to pass the John Lewis voting rights bill, which has been blocked by Republicans, and revive the border security bill that was killed in the GOP-led House.
On Thursday, Bash also questioned Harris about Trump’s attacks on her race and ethnicity.
“Same old, tired playbook,” Harris quipped. “Next question, please.”
“I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” the VP added on the topic later in the interview.
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