Kamala Harris declared on Thursday that the American people are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump and forge a new path for the country, giving her first major interview since her dramatic entry into the November presidential election.
Harris, 59, attempted to take a centrist stance on CNN, insisting she would be tough on illegal immigration and support controversial oil and gas fracking — but would not abandon her longstanding liberal values.
The first female, Black and South Asian vice president described Trump as “pushing an agenda and an environment that is designed to undermine the character and strength of Americans, and really divide our country.”
“I think people are ready for a new turn in this case,” he said. “People are ready for a new way forward.”
The Democrat also said she would add a Republican to her Cabinet if she wins the November election, in a CNN interview with fellow candidate Tim Walz.
Meanwhile, Trump dubbed Harris the “biggest flip-flopper” while addressing a rally in the state of Michigan, having earlier mocked her appearance in the interview.
“She didn’t strike me as a leader,” the Republican said.
Harris rejected criticism that she has shifted her position on politically sensitive issues, including fracking, which she once opposed but now supports, and illegal immigration at the Mexican border, where she has taken a tough stance.
She said, “As president I would not ban fracking” – her apparent goal being to resolve the dispute in fossil fuel-rich Pennsylvania, one of the key battleground states in the tightly contested election.
Responding to criticism about her soft stance on immigration — a key part of Trump’s message — Harris said she would sign tough legislation as president.
Harris is reaching out to centrist voters who are concerned about immigration and fuel prices. But addressing her left-wing supporters, she insisted she hasn’t fundamentally changed.
“My values haven’t changed,” Harris said.
On another hot topic on the US political scene, Harris urged a ceasefire in Gaza but told CNN she would not change President Joe Biden’s policies toward key US ally Israel, including the supply of arms.
The honeymoon period?
Republicans had criticized Harris for not giving any interviews since Biden abruptly decided to drop out of the White House race nearly six weeks ago, as concerns grew about his health and his age at 81.
Harris has enjoyed a honeymoon period with rising polling and record fundraising, but has also faced scrutiny for keeping many of her policies vague while building up her campaign.
Harris gave the interview during a campaign bus tour of Georgia, one of seven battleground states expected to decide the Nov. 5 election.
Several polls released on Thursday showed Harris ahead of Trump, albeit by a narrow margin, and many of those polls showed a surge in support for Harris in battleground states.
A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll found Harris leading in six of seven key states, while a Fox poll also showed her support growing across the electoral field.
At a rally in Savannah at the end of the two-day election in Georgia, which Democrats flipped from Trump in 2020, he acknowledged it was “going to be a tight race until the end.”
Trump himself has been engaged in a vigorous campaign in recent days, as the 78-year-old former president struggles to strengthen his position against a new, young, female candidate.
Speaking at an event in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday, Trump attacked Harris over her immigration policy changes: “Now she’s saying, ‘Oh we want to build a strong border.’
“Where was she for three and a half years?”
Harris and Trump will face off in their first pivotal debate on September 10 in Philadelphia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
