Vice President Harris on Wednesday had her toughest interview since becoming the Democratic nominee, peppering her with questions from Fox News' Bret Baier.
The two frequently sparred, sometimes discussing topics such as immigration, President Biden's mental health, transgender prisoners and cases involving alleged murders by immigrants.
Harris made a risky appearance on the network just three weeks before Election Day as part of the latest media blitz to try to rally enough of a coalition to defeat former President Trump.
Here are five takeaways from the Bret Baier interview.
Harris faces toughest interview yet
Harris and Baier sparred from the start, with Baier asking about the number of immigrants who have entered the country illegally since the Biden administration took office. The Fox News host continued to ask immigration-related questions several times, with the topic taking up nearly half of the airtime.
At various times during the interview, they argued, sometimes over each other, over Harris not answering questions or prioritizing answers.
At one point, Mr. Baier asked Ms. Harris about the fact that so many Americans expressed support for former President Trump, even though polls show the two candidates being almost evenly matched. I asked Mr. Harris what he thought, and asked, “Are they stupid?”
“Oh, I would never say that about the American people,” she replied. “He is someone who tends to degrade, belittle, and demean the American people.”
Harris pushed back when Baier tried to move on from a question about Trump's “enemy within” comments about his domestic rivals.
Baier played a video of the town hall aired on Fox News' “Faulkner Focus” earlier Wednesday in which Trump said, “I'm not threatening anyone.”
“That footage is not what he was talking about from the inside about the enemy…It's not what you just showed,” Harris told Baier. “You didn't show it, but this is the bottom line. He's said it over and over again. You and I know it, and he talked about turning the military against the American people. You and I both know that.”
Harris referred to Trump's comments in a separate interview in which he called Democratic opponents the “enemy within” and suggested the military could quell unrest. The comment sparked a backlash and became one of the highlights of Harris' campaign rally.
Baier defends Harris on immigration issue
Baier pressed Harris on the Biden administration's decision to end a Trump-era policy that forced potential asylum seekers to remain in Mexico to await the outcome of their cases in U.S. immigration court. Ta. Harris responded by referring to the bill that was originally proposed. Biden's proposal was an immigration bill.
Mr Baier also named the young women Rachel Nungarai, Laken Riley and Rachel Morin, who were allegedly murdered by men who entered the country illegally, and asked whether their families owed an apology. asked the vice president.
“These are tragic events, there's no question about that,” Harris responded, adding that he “deeply” regrets the family's loss.
Baier also asked about his 2019 position that border crossing should be decriminalized. This is one of several issues on which Harris is accused of flipping out. She told Bayer that she did not believe in decriminalizing border crossing.
“I don't believe in decriminalizing border crossing, I never did that as vice president, and I don't want to do that as president,” she said.
Harris says 'turning the page' on his tenure as vice president
Baier played a clip of an interview with Harris on “The View,” in which she said, “I can't think of anything that could have been different from Biden over the past four years or so.” There wasn't.”
“To be clear, my presidency is not a continuation of the Joe Biden presidency, and like every new president who takes office, I will bring my own life experiences, professional experiences, and fresh new I’m going to bring ideas to the table,” she told Baier. “I represent a new generation of leadership.”
She noted that, like Biden, he did not spend most of his career in Washington.
When Baier asked why one of her campaign promises was to “turn the page,” despite having been the current vice president for more than three years, Harris moved on to talk about Trump.
“First of all, we have taken a page from the last decade of rhetoric like Donald Trump's that has been designed and executed to divide the country and have Americans literally point fingers at each other. “Turn it over,” she said.
Baier also reiterated that he has been vice president for three and a half years and questioned why people think the country is on the wrong path.
“Now, you and I both know what I’m talking about,” she said.
Mr. Baier replied, “What are you talking about?”
“It has become clear to me over the last 10 years…he is unfit to serve, unstable, dangerous and people are exhausted,” she said, referring to President Trump.
Questions about transgender prisoners at Harris Field
Mr. Baier ran a Trump campaign ad claiming that Ms. Harris supports gender reassignment with taxpayer funds. He then asked if he still supported inmates receiving medical treatment to transition to a different gender.
“I follow the law, and this is the law that Donald Trump actually followed,” she said. New York Times coverage Under the Trump administration, gender-affirming care was provided to people in federal prisons.
“Frankly, for someone who lives in a glass house, I think the Trump campaign ads are like throwing rocks,” she added. “We must take responsibility for what happened within our administration.
When Baier asked if she would advocate for taxpayer dollars to go toward transgender surgeries, she said, “I follow the law.” He added that President Trump's ads are an effort to “instill fear in voters.”
Harris avoids Biden's insight
Mr. Baier asked the vice president when he first noticed that Mr. Biden's “mental functioning appeared to be declining.”
Harris defended the president, saying, “He has the judgment and experience to do exactly what he has done in making these very important decisions on behalf of the American people.” .
But she quickly added that while Biden is not on the ballot, Trump is, suggesting instead that it is the former president who is unfit to be president.
Harris was criticized by Republicans for remaining loyal to Biden despite pressure from other Democratic leaders to withdraw from the 2024 race, and ultimately withdrew. did.
“Trump is on the ballot,” she said.
Mr. Baier replied: “You've been seeing him at least once a week for the past three and a half years. … Were you worried?”
She dodged the question and said, “I think the American people are concerned about Donald Trump,'' and that Trump's critics, including those who worked for him, are calling him unfit and dangerous. He added that he said.
Brett Samuels contributed to this report.
