The Democratic candidate gave an interview to CNN in which she attacked her Republican rival and detailed several points of her program.
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The United States is “ready to turn the page” Donald Trump, wants to believe Kamala Harris. The vice president gave her first interview as a Democratic candidate for the American presidential election on Thursday, August 29, on the sidelines of a campaign trip to Georgia, a key state in the south of the country. On CNN’s microphone, Kamala Harris defended her ideas and criticized her Republican rival.
This first interview, alongside his running mate Tim Walz, was highly anticipated. According to the polls, the duel between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris for the White House remains undecided, even if the Democratic candidate is in a better position than President Joe Biden was. Here is what to remember from this interview, two months before the election.
Democratic candidate accuses Trump of ‘dividing the nation’
Kamala Harris accused the 78-year-old former Republican president of pushing a program that has undermined “character and strength” Americans, and who has “divided our nation.” The Democrat assured that she wants, on the contrary, to carry a message of political reconciliation. In case of victory on November 5, she estimated thateu “It would be a good thing for the Americans if there were a Republican minister in [son] government”without however giving a name.
The 59-year-old candidate returned to her rival’s personal attacks against her. While Donald Trump called her a “weather vane”Who “changes position on all issues”Kamala Harris hammered home that “his values had not changed”The Republican candidate also accused his opponent in early August of being “turned black” for electoral reasons. Questioned On this subject, Kamala Harris did not want to elaborate, considering that it was a question of “the same old story”.
“Supporting the middle class” will be one of his priorities
In her program, the candidate mentioned the purchasing power of Americans. She assures that the “supporting the middle class” will be one of her priorities if she becomes president. “Prices, especially those of food products, remain too high”she acknowledged. “The American people know it. I know it too.”, she added, promising measures to address this. Kamala Harris also wants to reduce the “cost of housing”thanks to a tax credit to help households purchase their first property.
On energy, she pledges not to ban hydraulic fracturing
The candidate was questioned on several sensitive campaign issues, including the environment and energy. “I have always thought (…) that climate change is a reality, that it is an urgent issue” and that the United States must hold “goals” in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, she assured.
On hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting hydrocarbons denounced by environmental defenders, Kamala Harris declared that in the event of victory, she would “would not prohibit” this practice. “We can grow and develop a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking”assured the vice president, while she had said in the past that she was opposed to this technique. Hydraulic fracturing is a hot topic in the United States, particularly in the highly coveted state of Pennsylvania, in which the hydrocarbon sector is a major provider of jobs and income.
Kamala Harris vows to ‘enforce the laws’ on immigration
On immigration, one of Donald Trump’s favorite themes, Kamala Harris said there must be “consequences” for people entering the United States illegally. “We have laws that must be respected and enforced.she said. As president, I will enforce our laws.”
The vice president defended her work with Joe Biden on this issue and focused her attacks on Donald Trump. She mentioned in particular “a bipartisan bill” which planned the deployment of “1,500 additional agents at the border” according to her, but which never saw the light of day after the billionaire pressured Republican representatives and senators. In case of victory, she promises that she will put this project back on the table. “I’ll make sure it gets to my desk and I’ll sign it.”she hammered home.
She reaffirms Israel’s right “to defend itself”
On the geopolitical level, Kamala Harris reiterated her support for Israel’s right “to defend oneself” and answered “No” to the question of whether, as president, she would suspend American arms deliveries to Israel. Nearly eleven months after the start of the war between the Jewish state and Hamas, the candidate rejects all “change of arms policy”. She added, however, that “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” and called for “a ceasefire” in the region.
Between pancakes and puzzles, Kamala Harris tells how she learned of Joe Biden’s withdrawal
Kamala Harris recounted how she learned that President Joe Biden was withdrawing from the race for the White House. “My family was with me, including my nieces, and we had just eaten pancakes.”, said the vice-president about this Sunday, July 21. “We were setting up to do a puzzle. And the phone rang. It was Joe Biden. And he told me what he had decided to do.”she continued. “I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ And that’s how I found out.”
She also assured that the 81-year-old president had said “very clearly that he [la] would support” to run for the Democratic Party. “To be honest with you, it wasn’t me I thought of first. I thought of him first.”she said.