In the most combative interview since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, she discussed border policy, taxpayer-funded benefits for transgender prisoners and President Biden with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Wednesday.
Harris, who has repeatedly been asked where she differed with Biden during their tenure, has struggled to differentiate herself from him without being disrespectful to the man who chose her to be his running mate. She offered her clearest answer on the matter during the interview.
“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”
The half-hour interview with Baier, Harris’ first formal sit-down with the cable channel, took place amid a media blitz by the Democratic nominee, and was testy at times. From the opening moments, Fox News’ chief political anchor frequently interrupted Harris as she responded to his questions, and frequently referred to her as “ma’am” rather than “vice president.”
But Harris struggled when pressed on positions she had previously taken about issues such as allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses, free college tuition and free healthcare.
“Listen, that was five years ago, and I’m very clear that I will follow the law,” she said. “I have made that statement over and over again, and as vice president of the United States, that’s exactly what I’ve done.”
Pressed with a follow-up question about her previously expressed support for using taxpayer dollars to fund gender-transition care for prison inmates, Harris argued that a similar policy existed during Trump’s tenure. She accused her GOP rival, former President Trump, of fearmongering with ads about the issue.
The Trump campaign painted Harris’ appearance on Fox as a victory for the Republican.
“Kamala Harris’ interview with Bret Baier was a TRAIN WRECK. Kamala was angry, defensive, and once again abdicated any responsibility for the problems Americans are facing,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “She couldn’t give a straight answer to a single question because she has no answers.”
Harris sought to turn several questions to Trump’s fitness for office, repeating her increasingly frequent characterizations of him as unfit and unstable.
“The American people have a concern about Donald Trump, which is why the people who know him best, including leaders of our national security community, have all spoken out, even people who worked for him in the Oval Office, worked with him in the Situation Room, and have said he is unfit and dangerous and should never be president of the United States again, including his former vice president, which is why the job was open for him to choose another running mate,” she said. “So that is a fact.”