Since coming into the presidential race in July, Vice President Kamala Harris sat for comparatively few interviews with media shops, opting as a substitute for rallies with scripted speeches.
That modified this week.
In a couple of days’ span, she did interviews with the hard-hitting community newsmagazine, CBS Information’ “60 Minutes,” ABC’s morning talkfest “The View” and CBS’ “The Late Present with Stephen Colbert.”
She additionally spoke with SiriusXM host Howard Stern and Alex Cooper of “Name Her Daddy,” a preferred podcast for younger ladies. On Oct. 11, Harris is slated to look at a city corridor hosted by Spanish-language broadcaster Univision. (Former President Donald Trump’s Univision city corridor was postponed.)
The media tour mirrored Harris’ response to criticism that she’s avoiding the press and her marketing campaign’s want to succeed in particular voters. In among the interviews, notably “60 Minutes,” Harris fielded powerful questions on thorny coverage points, together with immigration and the financial system. In others, together with “Name Her Daddy” and “The View,” the interviewers have been much less confrontational, permitting her house to expound on her precedence subjects, similar to abortion and well being care.
Here’s a taste of what Harris mentioned throughout her appearances on this wide selection of shops, together with fact-checks.
“60 Minutes”
Oct. 7, Invoice Whitaker of “60 Minutes” peppered Harris with query after query on a variety of powerful subjects, together with the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration insurance policies, its capacity to affect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Harris’ altering coverage stances on points similar to fracking. He usually had a number of follow-ups when he wasn’t glad together with her reply.
On the financial system, Harris mentioned, “We now have historic low unemployment in America amongst all teams of individuals,” which we rated Half True as a result of unemployment for a number of teams has risen modestly since hitting lows in 2022 or 2023.
She additionally claimed that the Biden-Harris administration has “lower the movement of fentanyl by half,” however gave no extra particulars.
Whitaker additionally requested for extra particulars concerning the gun Harris owns; she mentioned it was a Glock pistol and that she acquired it as a result of she was in legislation enforcement, as San Francisco district legal professional and California legal professional basic.
“The View”
On Oct. 8, Harris appeared dwell on “The View,” ABC’s daytime speak present that has usually handled Democratic politicians warmly.
The hosts listened as Harris touted the accomplishments of President Joe Biden’s administration and railed towards Trump.
The hosts nodded as she mentioned Trump as soon as mentioned he would “terminate the Structure,” a declare now we have rated True. In 2022, Trump wrote on Reality Social that election fraud could possibly be the premise for the “termination” of guidelines within the U.S. Structure. There is no such thing as a mechanism for the “termination” of constitutional guidelines due to undesired election outcomes.
Harris was requested whether or not she would have executed one thing in a different way from Biden over the previous 4 years. In a response that performed into Republican messaging essential of Biden, Harris initially mentioned, “There’s not a factor that involves thoughts.” She later mentioned that she would appoint a Republican to the Cupboard.
“Name Her Daddy”
The podcast “Name Her Daddy” largely focuses on points that curiosity younger ladies.
Cooper opened her present by explaining why she wished to talk with Harris. “Let’s be actual, I am most likely not the one to be having the fracking dialog,” Cooper mentioned. “However the dialog I do know I’m certified to have is the one surrounding ladies’s our bodies and the way we’re handled and valued on this nation.” (Cooper mentioned she had additionally invited Trump to hitch her for an episode.)
Over about 40 minutes, Harris mentioned her upbringing and values, together with ladies’s well being points, together with abortion.
Harris highlighted restrictive abortion legal guidelines which were enacted for the reason that U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, and she or he detailed the logistical hurdles that ladies — particularly ladies residing within the South — usually face when looking for abortions.
Harris repeated a True declare that 1 in 3 U.S. ladies of reproductive age dwell in a state with an abortion ban. There are 65 million to 75 million U.S. ladies of reproductive age. Of these, over 25 million dwell in one of many 18 states that outlaw abortion outright, or ban abortion after six weeks of being pregnant, when many ladies’t don’t but know they’re pregnant.
Harris additionally criticized Trump for appointing three of the Supreme Court docket justices who voted to overturn Roe and mentioned his newer makes an attempt to melt his abortion stance are dishonest.
“This is identical man who mentioned that ladies must be punished for having abortions?” she requested.
Trump did say this, however Harris not noted that he mentioned it in 2016 and walked again the remark the identical day, amid criticism. Trump clarified that he thought medical doctors, not ladies, must be punished for performing outlawed abortions.
“The Howard Stern Present”
On Oct. 8, Harris sat down with Stern, whose longstanding shock-jock persona has extra lately morphed right into a pleasant interlocutor for Democrats, together with Biden.
Within the interview, Stern and Harris shared their appreciation for the late singer Prince and breakfast cereal. (She likes raisin bran and Particular Ok.) Stern additionally gave Harris an opportunity to debate her legislation enforcement background.
Harris repeated a number of assaults on Trump, saying he informed Individuals to place “bleach of their blood” in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve rated comparable claims Largely False, as a result of Trump didn’t explicitly advocate ingesting a disinfectant similar to bleach, as a substitute expressing curiosity in exploring whether or not disinfectants could possibly be utilized to a coronavirus an infection web site contained in the physique, such because the lungs.
Stern gave Harris a gap to criticize this yr’s Supreme Court docket resolution that confers broad immunity from prosecution to U.S. presidents, which might most instantly support Trump if he have been to win reelection.
“It is a man who has mentioned he’ll be a dictator on Day 1, mentioned he would weaponize the Division of Justice, take away the independence of the Division of Justice, and put his loyalists in,” Harris mentioned. That is largely correct; Trump has usually talked about how he would use the Justice Division to indict his opponents ought to he win again the White Home. Trump additionally mentioned he could be a dictator if reelected, although he mentioned it might solely be for someday.
“The Late Present with Stephen Colbert”
For greater than half a century, late evening TV has been a vacation spot for presidential candidates, going again to the Sixties, when Democrat John F. Kennedy appeared on “The Tonight Present” when Jack Paar was host.
On Oct. 8, Colbert devoted most of his hourlong present to Harris. She criticized Trump and cracked open Miller Excessive Life beers with the host.
In what seems to have been a cleanup try on her remarks from “The View,” Harris responded to a query about how she’d be completely different from Biden by saying to viewers laughs, “I’m clearly not Joe Biden. So that may be one change. … But additionally, I feel it’s necessary to say, with 28 days to go, I’m not Donald Trump.”
Harris additionally repeated a speaking level she mentioned on “60 Minutes,” that academics and othe middle-class Individuals are paying a better tax fee than billionaires. We’ve got rated comparable claims False, as a result of they understate what billionaires sometimes pay underneath present legislation and overstate what middle-class Individuals pay.
