By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington DC: US Vice-President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz sat down with CNN for their first interview on Friday since US President Joe Biden withdrew from his White House bid.
CNN's chief political correspondent Dana Bash asked Harris about Donald Trump's racial attacks, most notably when he said his opponent "wasn't Black enough".
In response, Harris shook her head, as if speechless, and appeared like she did not want to spend too much airtime on the subject.
"Same old, tired playbook," Harris responded.
"Next question, please."
"That's it?" Bash asked, "That's it," Harris replied.
Former US President Donald Trump had launched a strong personal attack on Harris on August 1, by claiming that she, after being of "Indian heritage" for years, "turned Black" a few years ago.
"She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?" CNN quoted him as saying.
Bash asked Harris about her plans for her first day in office, if she is elected in November. Harris responded by reiterating what she has identified as the top priority for her Presidency: bolstering the middle class. Vice President Harris addressed plans to make housing more affordable and to expand the child tax credit, and she acknowledged that despite economic growth since the pandemic, prices are still too high for many Americans.
Bash pressed Harris on the stark changes she made to her policy platform since she first ran for the presidency in 2020.
"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.
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Harris also addressed foreign policy, namely the continued US aid to Israel in its war in Gaza. When asked if Harris would withhold some shipments of weapons to Israel, Harris did not directly answer the question, and instead reiterated her call for a ceasefire deal and getting the hostages home.
"I remain committed since I've been on October 8, to what we must do to work toward a two state solution where Israel is secure and in equal measure, the Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity," she said.
She also questioned Harris's running mate Walz on seeming exaggerations the Minnesota governor made in public statements about his military record. He was asked about previous comments he made in 2018 about carrying a weapon into war - which Walz never did. He said he misspoke.
"We were talking about, in this case, this was after a school shooting, the ideas of carrying these weapons of war and my wife, the English teacher, telling me my grammar is not always correct," Walz said.
"My record speaks for itself... I speak like they do. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about our children being shot in schools and around guns. So I think people know me," he said.
—ANI