Kamala Harris gave her first televised interview overnight since replacing Joe Biden in the US presidential race. The current vice president of the United States took the opportunity to defend her ideas and attack Donald Trump's program.
She was waiting around the corner. Vice President Kamala Harris said America was “ready to turn the page” on Trump in her first interview as a White House candidate, during which she defended his ideas on energy, immigration and Israel. She accused the former Republican president of “dividing our nation” in an interview with CNN on the sidelines of a campaign trip to Georgia, a key southern state.
Republican minister in his government?
The Democratic candidate, who by contrast chose a message of political reconciliation, estimated that “it would be a good thing for Americans if there was a Republican minister in (her) government” in case of victory in the presidential election on November 5.
Hydraulic fracturing
Asked about sensitive campaign issues, Kamala Harris specifically said that if she wins, she “will not ban” hydraulic fracturing, a method of hydrocarbon extraction denounced by environmentalists. “We can grow and develop a thriving, clean energy economy without banning fracking,” the vice president assured, although she has previously said she opposes the technique. It's a hot topic, especially in the coveted state of Pennsylvania, where the hydrocarbon sector is a major provider of jobs and revenue.
Immigration
On immigration, one of Donald Trump's favorite topics, the 59-year-old Democrat said there must be “consequences” for people who enter the US illegally. The vice president, who in the past has taken more progressive positions on these two topics, assured that “her values have not changed.”
Climate change
“I've always believed that climate change is a reality, that it's an urgent problem” and that the United States needs to meet “targets” on greenhouse gas emissions, she said.
Trump's reaction
Republicans accuse the vice president of being inconsistent in her ideas. “I can't wait to debate 'comrade' Kamala and show what a fraud she is. Harris has changed her position on every issue,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, referring to the scheduled September 10 face-to-face meeting with her rival. The 78-year-old billionaire has stepped up personal attacks against Kamala Harris since entering the campaign following Democratic President Joe Biden's resounding withdrawal on July 21. He specifically accused her of “going black” for electoral reasons. Asked about it, Kamala Harris, born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, did not want to elaborate, saying it was “the same old refrain”, adding: “next question please”.
Israel-Hamas war
On another politically sensitive issue, she reiterated her support for Israel's right to “defend itself” and answered “no” when asked if, as president, she would suspend US arms shipments to Israel , while the war in Gaza continued for nearly eleven months. The Democrat also stated that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” and called for “a ceasefire”.
According to the polls, the duel with Donald Trump remains undecided, even if the Democratic candidate is in a better position than President Joe Biden was. Like Kamala Harris, Donald Trump is scrutinizing “swing states,” the pivot states that promise to be particularly contested in November, of which Georgia is one. The Republican candidate, for his part, visited Michigan on Thursday, then Wisconsin.