During her second interview since entering the race, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to undercut her own track record in the Biden-Harris administration, suggesting that their policies are outdated for the “twenty-first century.” Harris faces a difficult balancing act: she can’t campaign on fixing issues like crime, inflation, and border security without criticizing the administration’s current policies, yet she must also promote those same policies to justify her record and candidacy.
In a conversation with Brian Taff of Philadelphia’s Action News 6 ABC, an interview her campaign had promised after she was criticized for dodging questions during Tuesday’s debate, Harris emphasized her “new ideas” and approach tailored to “the current moment.”
When Taff asked, “Are there one or two areas where you would say, ‘I’m a different person [than Joe Biden]?’” Harris responded, “My approach is about new ideas, new policies that are directed at the current moment. And also, to be very honest with you, my focus is very much on what we need to do over the next ten to twenty years to catch up to the twenty-first century.”
She added, “I’m obviously not Joe Biden, and I offer a new generation of leadership,” referencing areas where the administration had fallen short, such as helping citizens achieve the American dream. She proposed new policies, including expanding the child tax credit to $6,000 for families during their child’s first year, a critical time for development when many parents need financial assistance for essentials like car seats, cribs, and clothing.
When asked how she would address rising prices and make life more affordable, Harris repeated the same talking points from the debate. “I grew up a middle-class kid,” she said, dodging the question again. However, reports, including from Breitbart News, have labeled Harris’s claim as “mostly false,” noting her affluent upbringing in Westmount, Canada.
Taff also inquired about former President Donald Trump’s appeal and how she would speak to his voters. Harris’s response was vague and rambling: “I, based on experience and a lived experience, know in my heart, I know in my soul, I know that the vast majority of us as Americans have so much more in common than what separates us. And I also believe that I am accurate in knowing that most Americans want a leader who brings us together as Americans, and not someone who professes to be a leader who is trying to have us point our fingers at each other.” She concluded with a call to “bring everybody together.”
Finally, Harris expressed her strong support for an assault weapons ban, saying, “I feel very strongly that it is consistent with the Second Amendment and your right to own a gun to say that we need an assault weapons ban. They’re literally tools of war.” She added, “We’re not taking anybody’s guns away,” despite her stance on stricter gun control measures.
