CNN —
Vice President Kamala Harris turned a question about her nearly four years in office into an attack on her Republican rival Donald Trump’s record in a fiery interview on Fox News on Wednesday, making her first appearance on the conservative network. He courted disaffected Republicans and independent voters.
Ms. Harris, who was pursued during President Joe Biden’s presidency for violent crimes at border crossings and illegal immigration, repeatedly criticized Mr. Trump for opposing a bipartisan border security bill earlier this year. Asked about Biden’s mental acuity, she called Trump “unstable” and said “we should all be concerned.”
Harris also accused Fox News of whitewashing some of Trump’s most incendiary statements, including when the former president referred to his political opponents as the “enemy within.”
“Here’s the bottom line: He’s said the same thing over and over again, and you and I both know it. And you and I both know that he talked about turning American troops against the American people. He talked about going after people who are participating in peaceful protests. He’s talking about locking up people just because they don’t agree with him.” An exuberant Harris said after ‘s anchor Bret Baier played footage of President Trump complaining about political persecution.
“This is democracy,” she said. “And in a democracy, the president of the United States should be willing to deal with criticism without saying he’s going to lock people up for criticism.”
The interview comes as Ms. Harris hopes to appeal to a small number of undecided voters who have traditionally supported the Republican Party but are uneasy about Mr. Trump. Her campaign has been targeting these voters in recent days, with the vice president breaking with former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a Trump administration veteran and former President Trump who sought to overturn the 2020 election. He is conducting election activities together with party members.
Harris spoke early Wednesday morning at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, not far from where George Washington led 2,400 Continental Army soldiers across the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776, an iconic moment in the American Revolutionary War. , held an event with more than 100 Republicans supporting her. Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia lieutenant governor Jeff Duncan are also running.
In the Fox News interview (itself a window into how the vice president’s campaign was trying to reach right-wing audiences), Harris also differentiated herself from President Joe Biden more clearly than ever before. He told Baier that he would bring new ideas. Experience in the White House.
“My presidency is not a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Harris said.
“I represent a new generation of leadership,” she said. “For example, I didn’t spend the majority of my career in Washington, D.C., and I’ve had a lot of trouble with the business community and the people who contribute to my decisions, even from the Republicans who are supporting me with me on stage a few minutes ago. I’d also like to get ideas from other people who can.”
Baier asked Harris about a Trump campaign ad that pointed to Harris saying in 2019, when she was a California senator and Democratic presidential candidate, that she supported providing gender-affirming care to prisoners. asked.
Asked whether she currently supports using taxpayer dollars to fund gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners, including undocumented immigrants, Harris said, “I would follow the law.”
“I follow the law, and it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed. As you probably know, under Donald Trump’s administration, people in federal prisons were given these surgeries based on medical necessity. It’s been announced that you can receive it,” Harris said.
Harris was referring to a New York Times report outlining the Bureau of Prisons’ provision of gender-affirming services under the Trump administration.
“Frankly, I think that ad from the Trump campaign is like throwing rocks when you live in a glass house,” she said.
Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes told the Times: “Kamala Harris has advocated forcefully for transgender prisoners to have sex reassignment surgery, but President Trump has never done so.” Ta.
Asked by Baier whether she would advocate for spending taxpayer money on “gender reassignment surgery,” Harris again said, “As I think Donald Trump would say, we will follow the law.”
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When asked about the Biden administration’s response to the U.S.-Mexico border, Harris repeatedly referred to the bipartisan border security bill that was blocked by Congressional Republicans earlier this year and remained vague on some of her previous positions. However, he took a more hawkish position.
Baier pressed Harris on the Biden administration’s early decision to repeal Trump-era policies, leading to a heated exchange between the two, with the two at times talking over each other.
He asked how many illegal immigrants Harris estimates the administration has released into the United States during President Biden’s term.
“It’s just a number. Do you think it’s one million or three million?” Mr. Byer asked.
“Brett, let’s get straight to the point, okay? The bottom line is that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed,” Harris said.
Border facilities are not equipped to hold people for long periods of time, and over several administrations migrants have been released from detention after review when resources are stretched. The situation has worsened in recent years as the number of migrants crossing the border has increased sharply.
Mr. Baier asked Mr. Harris about Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who died while jogging in February. The incident has often been cited by Republicans as an example of the administration’s handling of border security.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested in 2022 after illegally entering the United States, but was released pending further proceedings.
“First of all, these are tragic incidents. There’s no question about that. There’s no question about that, and the families of the victims have gone through a lot of suffering because of the loss that shouldn’t have happened. I can’t imagine the pain,” Harris said.
“It’s also true that if Border Patrol had actually been through nine months ago, there would have been more border agents at the border and more support for the people who are working around the clock to keep everything together. If we had, it would have been nine months,” she added.
During the interview, Harris argued that the immigration system is broken, a position held by both Democrats and Republicans.
“I’m not proud to say this is a perfect immigration system,” she says. “I’m very clear that this needs to be fixed, and I think everyone is too.”
When asked about her policy positions when running for president in 2019, including not excluding undocumented immigrants from health insurance and other benefits, Harris remained vague, saying, “I’m clear that we will abide by the law.” only said.
Harris also said she would not decriminalize illegal border crossings if elected.
“I don’t believe in decriminalizing border crossing, and I didn’t do that as vice president,” she said. “I would not do something like that as president.”
