Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday gave her first major television interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash, Harris touched on her agenda if she is elected and discussed topics she has avoided speaking about since being at the top of the ticket.
Here are three takeaways from the interview.
Defending her changing views
Harris has changed her stances on key policies from her run in 2019 when she wanted to appeal to the progressive base of the Democratic party. Most notable are her stances on the Green New Deal, opposing fracking and calling for decriminalizing migration.
“The most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris said.
When Bash pushed her on fracking, Harris reminded viewers that her position changed from 2020 and now it is four years later, saying the climate crisis “is real” and the White House attempted to address it with the Inflation Reduction Act.
“As President I will not ban fracking,” Harris said. “I made clear where I stood in 2020 and now we’re in 2024. I will keep my word.”
Refusing to address Trump’s comments on her race
Last month, Donald Trump gave a surprising interview to the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, where he made a controversial statement that Harris “turned Black” for political reasons.
“I’ve known her a long time, indirectly,” Trump said. “And she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I did not 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.”
On Thursday, Harris was given the chance to respond but decided to brush aside the comments instead.
“Same old, tired playbook,” she said. “Next question, please.”
“And I think people are ready to turn the page on that,” she continued.
Walz cleans up his comments
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, defended his prior characterizations of his service in the national guard. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, himself a military veteran, accused him of “stolen valor.”
“First of all, I’m incredibly proud I’ve done 24 years of wearing the uniform of this country,” Walz said. “I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about about our children being shot in schools and around around guns. So I think people know me,” he said. “They know who I am. They know where my heart is.”
