Kamala Harris was grilled on Fox News by presenter Bret Baier on immigration, the economy, and the Biden administration in a 30-minute interview Wednesday night.
The Democratic candidate’s first visit on the conservative network was part of a direct appeal to right-leaning voters, coming after she was joined by over 100 Republicans at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier that day.
The interview was contentious, with Harris screaming over Baier near the conclusion as she requested him to interview her “grounded in full assessment of the facts” while calling him out for showing footage she thought were irrelevant to what they were talking.
Here are the main takeaways.
- Immigration.
Harris was asked about the Biden administration’s efforts to combat an increase in illegal immigration along the southern border, and she blamed Republicans for failing to approve a border bill.
Harris was asked to justify the administration’s first decision to reverse some of Republican competitor Donald Trump’s tight measures, as well as to respond to a mother who testified in Congress about the death of her child at the hands of an illegal immigrant.
“I’m so sorry for her loss, but let’s talk about what is happening right now,” Harris told the crowd.
According to Harris, Trump encouraged Republicans to reject a bipartisan immigration package because “he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”
- The Biden-Harris Record
Harris was questioned on her recent statement that there was “nothing” she would change about the Biden administration’s policies, to which she responded: “Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” although she did not clarify.
When Harris was questioned when she first saw Biden’s “mental faculties appeared diminished,” the vice president said that the president had the judgment and experience to do what was necessary on behalf of the American people.
She went on to say that the individuals who knew Trump best felt he was unfit to be president again, and that “Joe Biden is not on the ballot, but Donald Trump is.”
- The Middle East
When asked which foreign country she considers America’s greatest adversary, Harris specifically mentioned Iran. Baier questioned whether the Biden-Harris administration was “acting like Iran is the number one threat”.
The vice president stated that she had worked with military leaders to do what America must always do: provide Israel with the tools it needs to protect itself from attack, “including from Iran and Iran’s terrorist proxies in the region.” And my dedication to that is unshakeable.”
In response to Baier’s line of questioning, Harris stated, “I would like if we could have a conversation that is grounded in a full assessment of the facts.”
- Donald Trump.
Harris said about Trump: “People are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader and who spends full-time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances.”
She went on, “He’s not stable.”
She also tried to draw Fox viewers’ attention to Trump’s language of “the enemy within” and vows to punish his opponents.
Harris was also questioned about her stance on using government cash for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, especially those who are undocumented. Trump has spent millions of dollars on commercials about the issue in battleground states.
“I will follow the law,” she stated, but added that the US Bureau of Prisons conducted gender-affirming therapy under Trump. She accused him of “throwing stones when you live in a glass house”.