Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives for a campaign event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, October 4, 2024.
Geoff Robins | Afp | Getty Images
Kamala Harris on Wednesday distanced herself from President Joe Biden and bashed her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump in a heated interview with Fox News anchor Brett Baier.
“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Harris said on the conservative news network, after Baier pressed her on whether the vice president would do anything differently than the incumbent.
“And like every new president that comes in to office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas,” the Democratic nominee said.
The 26-minute interview was focused heavily on the issue of immigration, and Harris again blamed Trump for killing a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the crisis at the southern border.
The interview was tense from the first exchange, when Baier repeatedly interrupted Harris’ opening answer about immigration. “You have to let me finish please … I’m in the middle of responding to the point you’re raising, and I’d like to finish,” Harris said early on.
Here are the most memorable moments
- On whether she owes an apology to the families of three women killed by undocumented immigrants:
“I think we’ve had a broken immigration system, transcending, by the way, Donald Trump’s administration — even before. Let’s all be honest about that. I have no pride in saying that this is a perfect immigration system. I’ve been clear. I think we all are that it needs to be fixed.”
- On a new Trump ad about taxpayer dollars being used for gender reassignment
“I think [Trump] spent $20 million on those ads, trying to create a sense of fear in the voters, because he actually has no plan in this election that is about focusing on the needs of the American people. $20 million, on that ad, on an issue that as it relates to the biggest issues that affect the American people, is really quite remote. And again, his policy was no different.”
- On ways she is different from Biden
“I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, DC. I invite ideas, whether it be from the Republicans who are supporting me, who were just on stage with me minutes ago, and the business sector, and others who can contribute to the decisions that I make.”
- On Trump’s rhetoric to voters
“He’s the one who talks about an enemy within, within, an enemy within, talking about the American people. Suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people. You and I both know that he has talked about turning the American military on the American people. He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protest. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy, and in a democracy, the President of the United States, in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he would lock people up for doing it.”
- On whether Trump is fit to serve as president
“Over the last decade, it is clear to me and certainly the Republicans who are on stage with me, the former chief of staff to the president, Donald Trump, former defense secretaries, national security adviser and his vice president, one, that he is unfit to serve, that he is unstable, that he is dangerous. And that people are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances and it being about him and American people.”