Vice President Kamala Harris addressed topics from reparations to the border on Tuesday in a high-profile interview with Charlamagne Tha God, a show popular with Black listeners.
The Detroit Audio Town Hall was broadcast for a full hour on iHeartRadio with the co-hosts of the radio show “The Breakfast Club” and questions from listeners.
Recent polls have shown Harris losing support among black men, and her appearance was part of an effort to reverse that trend.
scripted talking points
Charlamagne began by talking about people criticizing Harris for sounding “very scripted” in interviews and at rallies, which Harris called “discipline.”
“Some people say you can't be afraid to say who you are and what you believe,” Charlamagne said. “What do you say to people who say you're staying focused?”
“I would say, 'You're welcome,'” Harris responded. “I mean, listen, this is what's important. I love to converse. So I'm very happy to be able to spend time with you this afternoon. And the reality is that I want everyone to know.” There are some things I have to repeat to get people to vote.''I need to repeat what I stand for and the issues that I think are at stake in this election. ”
Kamala Harris denies concerns about losing support from black men: 'That's not my experience'
“Some people have to hear the same thing at least three times to remember it,” Harris continued. “So it's important to repeat. So, yeah, when I go to Detroit, when I'm in Philadelphia, wherever I am, I say the same thing at rallies and make sure that people hear and receive what I think. ” These are some of the most important issues at stake in this election. ”
marijuana accusation
Charlamagne then brought up Harris' career as San Francisco district attorney, calling reports that Harris jailed thousands of black men on drug charges “misinformation.”
“One of the biggest misinformation stories, one of the biggest allegations against you, is that you targeted and locked up thousands of black men in San Francisco,” Charlamagne said. “Some say they did it to advance their careers. Others say they did it out of pure hatred for black men. Please tell me the facts.”
“That's simply not true,” Harris said. “And the public defenders that were around at the time, I knew that I was the most progressive prosecutor in California in terms of marijuana cases, that I was not going to send people to prison for simple possession of marijuana, and that as vice president I would “I would say I was an advocate for cracking down on marijuana” Schedule. “
Harris, who has since supported the decriminalization of marijuana use, oversaw nearly 2,000 convictions for marijuana-related offenses as district attorney.
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compensation
As the show continued, Harris fielded questions from callers, including one about her position on reparations for slavery.
“I'm running for president for all Americans. That being said, I do have a keen eye for the disparities that exist and the context in which they exist, the history. , my agenda is, first of all, there's no question that we need to look at reparations, and I'm clear about that position in terms of our immediate plans,” Harris said.
border
Later, Charlemagne confronted Harris about his history on the border, an issue Harris has raised many times.
“Doesn't the Biden administration have to take some responsibility on the border? A lot of the blame, I mean, in the first three years, because they made a lot of mistakes on the border,” Charlamagne said.
Harris replied, “No, Charlamagne. Within hours of taking office, before we enacted anti-inflation legislation, before we enacted bipartisan infrastructure legislation, before we enacted the Safer Communities Act to address gun violence. The first bill we passed before we enacted it was a bill to fix our broken immigration system, which by the way, Trump didn't fix when he was president. Ta.”
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The town hall came days after former President Barack Obama's comments went viral, warning black male voters that they lacked enthusiasm in supporting Harris. Polls show Trump has gained support among black men, who have traditionally been some of the Democratic Party's most reliable supporters.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Alexa Moutevelis contributed to this report.
