Five key takeaways from Kamala Harris, Tim Walz’s first major TV interview

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have appeared on CNN on for their first in-depth interview since launching their bid for the United States presidency.

Harris has faced scrutiny for avoiding a major media interview since announcing her candidacy late last month.

Harris outlines plans for day one

Harris has a historically short time span before the November 5 election to win over voters.

She only became the frontrunner for the Democratic ticket on July 21, when incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Harris is currently Biden’s vice president.

Harris responded by reiterating what she has identified as the top priority for her presidency: bolstering the middle class.

Her administration, she said, would “do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class”.

She and Walz then gave a nod to their signature policy proposals, including a child tax credit, lowering grocery costs and increasing construction to address a housing shortage in the country. Harris also said she would strike a different tone than Trump in the White House.

“When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think people are ready for a new way forward,” she said.

“I think, sadly, in the last decade, we have had – in the former president – someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the strength and the character of who we are as Americans.”

Later, when asked about comments Trump made questioning her racial identity, Harris swatted away his remarks: “Same old tired playbook. Next question, please.”

Harris describes learning of Biden’s withdrawal

Bash asked Harris to describe how she learned that Biden was withdrawing from the presidential race in July, only weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

“It was a Sunday,” Harris explained. “My family was staying with us, including my baby nieces, and we had just had pancakes.”

“We were sitting down to do a puzzle, and the phone rang, and it was Joe Biden. And he told me what he had decided to do,” Harris continued.

“I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said yes. And that’s how I learned about it.”

On July 21, Biden announced the news to the US public, with a statement on his social media accounts. “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” he wrote.

But the decision came after Biden gave a fumbling performance in the June 28 presidential debate against Trump. Many in the Democratic Party expressed concern over the 81-year-old’s age and capacity to handle the pressures of the presidency.

Harris, however, had consistently defended Biden’s ability to lead. Bash prodded Harris to know if she had any regrets about her time in Biden’s White House.

“Not at all. I have served with President Biden for almost four years now, and I can tell you, it’s one of the greatest honours of my career, truly,” Harris said. She called Biden’s presidency “transformative” before taking another swipe at Trump.

Biden, she said, “has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgement and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president. By contrast, the former president has none of that.”

Harris hints at Republican Cabinet member

Thursday’s CNN interview came exactly one week after the close of the Democratic National Convention when Harris formally accepted the party nomination for the presidency.

In her acceptance speech, Harris pledged to be a “president for all Americans”.

In Thursday’s broadcast, she took that promise one step further. When Bash asked if she would consider appointing a Republican to her Cabinet staff – a group of top presidential advisers – Harris immediately said yes.

“I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences,” Harris explained.

“And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”

Neither of the last two administrations – Trump’s and Biden’s – have appointed Cabinet members from the opposing party. The last president to do so was Democrat Barack Obama, with the appointment of Republicans like Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Bash tried to coax Harris into revealing if she had someone in particular on her mind for her Cabinet.

“No one in particular in mind,” Harris replied. “I have 68 days to go in this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse.”

Bash questions Harris about back-tracking

Thursday’s interview took place largely without fireworks, with Harris repeating much of what she has said on the campaign trail.

But Bash zeroed in on reversals Harris made to her policy stance since 2020, when she first campaigned for the presidency.

For instance, when Harris campaigned for president in 2020, she supported Medicare for All legislation championed by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders. She has since backed away from that position.

And in 2019, she told a CNN town hall that she favoured a “Green New Deal” that would include more aggressive policies to combat climate change. “There’s no question I’m in favour of banning fracking,” she said at the time.

After Harris joined Biden in 2020 as his running mate, she quickly retreated from that position, something she pointed out in Thursday’s interview with Bash.

“I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking,” she said, before adding: “As president, I will not ban fracking.”

Seeking to head off accusations that she had flip-flopped, Harris emphasised that she continues to perceive climate change as a major threat – one that can be addressed without a fracking ban.

“Let’s be clear: My values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate,” Harris said.

“What I’ve seen is that we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”