Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sat down for a joint interview with CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash Thursday.
It was the first official interview with a major news outlet in which Harris has participated since she officially became the presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. The interview was recorded Thursday afternoon at Kim’s Cafe, a local Black-owned restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.
Day one
"Day one it's going to be about, one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy," Harris said as the interview began, touching on her proposals to bring down everyday costs, invest in small businesses and extend child tax credits. "My proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers."
Reviving the bipartisan immigration bill
On matters of immigration, Harris said she had worked with President Biden and with Congress to craft a bipartisan border security bill, and would work to pass it if elected.
"I would make sure that it comes to my desk and I would sign it," Harris said.
Commitment to policy
"The most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed," Harris said.
She gave an example of climate change and the Green New Deal:
"I have always believed — and I have worked on it — that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act. We have set goals for the United States of America and by extension the globe around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," Harris said. "That value has not changed."
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Would Harris appoint Republicans to her cabinet?
"Yes I would," Harris said. She did not give immediate examples.
"I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion," Harris said. "I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican."
On questions of her race
Harris dismissed Trump's allegations concerning her racial background, in which Trump has claimed that Harris "happened to turn Black."
“Same old, tired playbook,” Harris said. “Next question, please.”
The Israel/Hamas conflict in Gaza
"I am unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself. That's not going to change," Harris said. But "how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. We've got to get a deal done."
Harris called for progress toward a two-state solution, calling both for Israel's security and for Palestinian self-determination.
Gov. Walz brushes off criticism of his military service
"If it's not this it's an attack on my children for showing love for me, or an attack on my dog. I'm not going to do that," Walz said. "The one thing I'm never going to do is demean another member's service in any way. I never have and I never will."
On President Biden nominating Harris
"We were sitting down to do a puzzle," Harris said. "The phone rang and it was Joe Biden."
When he told Harris he planned to step down from the race, "I asked him 'are you sure?' And he said 'yes,'" Harris said.
'That's my dad'
Gov. Walz recalled the emotional moment from his son Gus during the Democratic National Convention.
"That moment — To understand what was really important, to have my son feel a sense of pride in me, that I was trying to do the right thing," Walz said. "You try to protect your kids. It brings notoriety and things. But it was just such a visceral, emotional moment. I'm grateful I got to experience it. I'm so proud of him."
"We can have families involved in this," Walz said of today's political landscape. "I hope people felt that out there. I hope they hugged their kids a little tighter."
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The interview comes as some Republicans, including former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, have accused Harris of dodging journalists and refusing to share her stances on policy.
Trump posted on Truth Social ahead of the interview on Thursday.
"Dana Bash of CNN has a chance at greatness today," he wrote. "If she gave a fair but tough interview of Comrade Kamala Harris, she will expose her as being totally inept and ill suited for the job of President, much as I exposed Crooked Joe Biden during our now famous Debate."
CNN says it has invited Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance for a similar interview.
