Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives for a campaign event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, October 4, 2024.
Geoff Robins | Afp | Getty Images
Kamala Harris on Wednesday distanced herself from President Joe Biden and blasted Republican presidential rival Donald Trump in a heated interview with Fox News host Brett Baier.
“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Harris told the conservative news network after Baier pressed her on whether the vice president would do anything differently than the incumbent.
“And like any new president coming into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences and fresh and new ideas,” the Democratic nominee said.
The 26-minute interview focused heavily on immigration, and Harris again accused Trump of killing a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the southern border crisis.
The interview was tense from the first exchange, when Baier repeatedly interrupted Harris’ opening response on immigration. “You have to let me finish please… I’m in the middle of answering the point you’re making and I’d like to finish,” Harris said early.
Here are the most memorable moments
- On whether he owes an apology to the families of three women killed by undocumented immigrants:
“I think we’ve had a broken immigration system, going beyond, by the way, the administration of Donald Trump — even before. Let’s all be honest about that. I’m not proud to say that this is a perfect immigration system. I think we’re all clear that must be corrected.”
- In a new Trump ad about taxpayer dollars being used for gender reassignment
“Think [Trump] he spent $20 million on these ads, trying to create a sense of fear in the voters, because he really has no plans in this election to focus on the needs of the American people. 20 million dollars, in this ad, on a subject that, as it relates to the larger issues affecting the American people, is really quite remote. Again, his politics were no different.”
- He is different from Biden in terms
“I represent a new generation of leadership. For example, I’m someone who hasn’t spent most of my career in Washington, D.C. I invite ideas, whether it’s from Republicans who support me, who were just on stage with me a few minutes ago and the business sector and others who can contribute to the decisions I make.”
- On Trump’s rhetoric to voters
“It is he who speaks of an enemy within himself, within, an enemy within, speaks for the American people. He proposed turning the US military against the American people. You and I know that he has talked about turning the American military over to the American people. He has spoken about the persecution of people participating in peaceful protests. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy, and in a democracy, the President of the United States, of the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he’s going to lock people up for doing it.”
- On whether Trump is fit to serve as president
“Over the last decade, it’s been clear to me and certainly to the Republicans on stage with me, the president’s former chief of staff, Donald Trump, his former secretaries of defense, his national security adviser and his vice president. he’s unfit to serve, that he’s unstable, that he’s dangerous, and that people are fed up with a self-proclaimed leader who spends all his time belittling and engaging in personal grievances and it’s about him and the American people.”