Harris' testy FOX News interview covers immigration, Biden, Trump
Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with FOX News host Bret Bair for a comprehensive – and sometimes contentious – interview Wednesday in her first conversation with the conservative network since joining the 2024 race.
"She was able to reach an audience that has probably been not exposed to the arguments she’s been making on the trail and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer," a campaign spokesperson said after the interview aired.
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Here are the highlights of the 30-minute interview.
What Harris said about Trump
Harris tried repeatedly to pivot the conversation to attacking her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris sat down for a testy interview with FOX News' Bret Bair (FOX News)
"People are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader and who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances," she said. "He’s not stable."
She also sought to focus Fox viewers on Trump's talk of "the enemy within" and threats to punish political rivals. Harris said "Trump would turn the American military on the American people."
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"He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protest," she said. "He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy, and in a democracy, the president … should be able to handle criticism without saying he would lock people up for doing it."
Harris referenced recent comments from former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who called Trump "fascist to the core" and "the most dangerous person to this country." She also mentioned former Vice President Mike Pence, who has said he cannot support Trump’s reelection.
Pushing back against Baier's line of questioning, Harris at one point said, "I would like if we could have a conversation that is grounded in a full assessment of the facts."
What Harris said about Biden
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A week after saying she couldn’t think of any move made by President Joe Biden that she would have done differently, Harris told Bair: "My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency."
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"Like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, and my professional experiences and fresh and new ideas," she said, without offering specifics.
Asked to clarify her assertion that she wants to "turn the page," though Democrats currently hold the White House, Harris said she is running on "turning the page from the last decade in which we have been burdened with the kind of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump."
Baier challenged Harris for defending Biden's mental stamina following his disastrous debate with Trump in June. That debate led to Biden dropping out of the race and elevating Harris to the top of the ticket.
"Joe Biden is not on the ballot and Donald Trump is," Harris told Bair.
What Harris said about immigration
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On immigration, Harris conceded that America’s system is "broken," but she defended the Biden administration’s efforts to fix it.
"The first bill that we offered Congress, before we worked on infrastructure … practically within hours of taking the oath … was a bill to fix the immigration system. We recognized on Day 1 that this is a priority for the American people."
Harris repeatedly told Bair "you have to let me finish, please," as he interrupted her throughout the interview.
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She expressed regret over the deaths of women who were killed by people who were detained and then released after crossing into the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration, but she criticized Trump for his role in blocking a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year that would have boosted border funding and put more than 1,500 new agents along the border.
Harris said Trump would rather "run on a problem" than offer a solution.
"[The American people] want solutions, and they want a president of the United States who’s not playing political games," Harris said.
Harris indicated she no longer supports decriminalizing crossing the border illegally, as she did in 2019.
"That was five years ago and I am very clear that I will follow the law," she said. She gave the same answer about proposals to allow those in the U.S. illegally to get driver's licenses and subsidized healthcare.