Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defended the Biden administration’s handling of illegal immigration in a combative television interview Wednesday and criticized Republicans for failing to pass border security legislation.
Harris, who was slammed by Fox News host Bret Baier, also defended President Joe Biden’s mental health, his years as vice president and his previous support for gender reassignment surgery for transgender prisoners. did.
Ms. Harris and Mr. Baier have argued frequently, leaving Ms. Harris visibly irritated, but she is trying to convey her message ahead of the Nov. 5 election to a conservative audience that is unlikely to hear much. Delivered to.
She defended the administration’s earlier decision to roll back some of its restrictive border policies when Republican rival Donald Trump was president, and the loss of her daughter at the hands of immigrants. He was asked to respond to his mother, who testified before Congress about the incident. US illegally.
“We’re so sorry to have lost her, but let’s talk about what’s going on,” Harris said. He said President Trump directed Republicans earlier this year to veto a bipartisan immigration bill because he “wanted to fix the problem rather than fix it.”
President Trump and the Republican Party claim that immigrants fuel violent crime in the United States, but research shows that immigrants have lower crime rates than other immigrants.
Asked about her recent comments that she “wouldn’t change anything” about the Biden administration’s actions, Harris said: “To be clear, my presidency is not a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.” Ta.
He said he would incorporate new ideas from Republicans and business leaders to solve the housing shortage and expand small businesses.
Trump team calls interview a ‘train wreck’
Harris was a vocal supporter of Biden before withdrawing from the race in July as Biden faced mounting questions about his mental health after a disastrous debate with Trump in June. was supporting. She was asked to defend those statements.
Although he questioned Trump’s suitability for president, he said Biden has the “judgment” and “experience” to become president. “Joe Biden is not on the ballot, but Donald Trump is,” Harris said.
She was pressed for a position on using taxpayer funds for gender reassignment surgeries for transgender prisoners, including illegal aliens. Mr. Trump has spent millions of dollars on ads on the topic in battleground states.
“I will follow the law,” Harris said, noting that under the Trump administration, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons provided gender-affirming treatment. She accused him of “living in a glass house and throwing stones.”
The approximately 30-minute interview marked Harris’ first appearance as a presidential candidate on the conservative media network, which often mocks her and other Democrats and promotes Trump’s policies. The host of the editorial program will appear.
Within minutes of the interview ending, the Trump campaign issued a statement calling it a “train wreck.”
David Urban, a political strategist and former Trump campaign aide, said Harris’ performance has been uneven and below average, shirking responsibility and making Trump a scapegoat. “It’s another media loss cycle for the Harris campaign,” Urban said.
Democrats argued that Harris stepped into unfriendly territory and accomplished it without a gaffe. The repeated interruptions kept Harris’ answers short and avoided the meandering answers she has been criticized for in the past.
“We feel we definitely accomplished what we set out to do,” Harris spokesman Brian Fallon said. “She was able to reach an audience that probably wouldn’t have been exposed to the arguments she had previously made. She also demonstrated her toughness in standing tall in the face of hostile interviewers. I was able to show it.”
Courting Republicans
The interview was part of Harris’ direct appeal to Republican voters on Wednesday. Ahead of her Fox News interview, she touted Republican support for her campaign in a pivotal county in Pennsylvania, one of the few battleground states likely to decide the outcome of the election.
In Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, Harris highlighted Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss four years ago when he lost the White House to Biden.
She said President Trump’s actions violated the U.S. Constitution and would violate the Constitution again if given the chance.
“He refused to accept the will of the people and the results of a free and fair election. Mr. Harris sent an armed mob to the U.S. Capitol, where they violently assaulted police officers and law enforcement officers and committed suicide. threatened the life of the Vice President of the United States.”
More than 100 Republicans joined Harris in Bucks County, including former Rep. Adam Adam, a member of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump.・Mr. Kinzinger was also included.
“No matter your party, no matter who you voted for last time, there’s a place for you in this race,” Harris said. A recent Reuters poll showed him leading President Trump by a margin of 46% to 43%.
President Trump participated in a town hall for Latino voters on Wednesday hosted by the Spanish-language network Univision. Fox News aired another Trump town hall with an all-female audience.
Harris has previously tried to appeal to voters disillusioned with Trump. Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said earlier this month that Trump is unfit to lead the country and urged voters to put country over party and vote for Harris.
Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump in Bucks County by about 17,000 votes in the 2020 election, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeated Mr. Trump by less than 3,000 votes in the county in 2016, according to county data. defeated Trump.
This summer, Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registration in Bucks County for the first time in a generation. The county currently has about 3,500 more Republican voters than Democrats, according to the latest data.
Harris is also considering collaborating with podcaster Joe Rogan. His show is watched by millions of men across political lines, and he joked that a “puppet master” was behind Harris’ strong debate performance against Trump last month. There is.
